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The    Book-Lover's    Library, 

Edited  by 
Henry  B.  Wheatley,  F.S.A 


BOOKS     FATAL     TO 
THEIR    AUTHORS 


p.  H.  DITCHFIELD,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

Fellotu  oj  the  Royal  Historical  Society^  Rector  of  Harhhani^  Ber 


r 


NKW    YORK 

A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON 

51    East   Tenth   Street 

1895 


XLo  tbc  Pernors 


JOHN  WALTER,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  J.P., 

OF  BEARWOOD,    BERKS, 

THIS      VOLUME 

IS 

RESPECTFULLY   AND   AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 


PREFACE.   . 

TO   THE  BOOK-LOVER. 


O  record  the  woes  of  authors 
and  to  discourse  de  libris 
fatalibus  seems  deliberately 
to  court  the  displeasure  of  that  fickle 
mistress  who  presides  over  the  destinies 
of  writers  and  their  works.  Fortune 
awaits  the  aspiring  scribe  with  many 
wiles,  and  oft  treats  him  sorely.  If  she 
enrich  any,  it  is  but  to  make  them  subject 
of  her  sport.  If  she  raise  others,  it  is 
but  to  pleasure  herself  with  their  ruins. 
What  she  adorned  but  yesterday  is  to- 
day her  pastime,  and  if  we  now  permit 
her  to  adorn  and  crown  us,  we  must  to- 
morrow suffer  her  to  crush  and  tear  us 


viii  Preface. 

to  pieces.  To-day  her  sovereign  power 
is  limited :  she  can  but  let  loose  a  host 
of  angry  critics  upon  us;  she  can  but 
scoff  at  us,  take  away  our  literary  repu- 
tation, and  turn  away  the  eyes  of  a  public 
as  fickle  as  herself  from  our  pages. 
Surely  that  were  hard  enough  !  Can 
Fortune  pluck  a  more  galling  dart  from 
her  quiver,  and  dip  the  point  in  more 
envenomed  bitterness  ?  Yes,  those  whose 
hard  lot  is  here  recorded  have  suffered 
more  terrible  wounds  than  these.  They 
have  lost  liberty,  and  even  life,  on  account 
of  their  works.  The  cherished  offspring 
of  their  brains  have,  like  unnatural 
children,  turned  against  their  parents, 
causing  them  to  be  put  to  death. 

Fools  many  of  them — nay,  it  is  sur- 
prising how  many  of  this  illustrious 
family  have  peopled  the  world,  and  they 
can  boast  of  many  authors^  names  which 
figure  on  their  genealogical  tree — men 
-a'Jto  might  have  lived  happy,  contented, 
and  useful  lives  were  it  not  for  their 
insane  cacoethes  scribendi.     And  hereby 


Preface.  ix 

they  show  their  folly.  If  only  they  had 
been  content  to  write  plain  and  ordinary 
commonplaces  which  every  one  believed, 
and  which  caused  every  honest  fellow 
who  had  a  grain  of  sense  in  his  head  to 
exclaim,  ^^ How  true  that  is!"  all  would 
have  been  well.  But  they  must  needs 
write  something  original,  something 
different  from  other  men's  thoughts  ; 
and  immediately  the  censors  and  critics 
began  to  spy  out  heresy,  or  laxity  of 
morals,  and  the  fools  were  dealt  with 
according  to  their  folly.  There  used  to 
be  special  houses  of  correction  in  those 
days,  mad-houses  built  upon  an  approved 
system,  for  the  special  treatment  of  cases 
of  this  kind ;  mediceval  dungeons,  an 
occasional  application  of  the  rack,  and 
other  gentle  instruments  of  torture  of  an 
inventive  age,  were  wonderfully  efficacious 
in  curing  a  man  of  his  folly.  Nor  was 
there  any  special  limit  to  the  time  during 
which  the  treatment  lasted.  And  in  case 
of  a  dangerous  fit  of  folly,  there  were 
always    a   few   faggots    ready,    or    a 


X  Preface. 

sharpened  axe,  to  put  a  finishing  stroke 
to  other  and  more  gentle  remedies. 

One  species  of  folly  was  especially 
effective  in  procuring  the  attention  of  the 
critics  of  the  day,  and  that  was  satirical 
writing.  They  could  not  tolerate  that 
style — no,  not  for  a  moment ;  and  many 
an  author  has  had  his  cap  and  bells,  aye, 
and  the  lining  too,  severed  from  the  rest 
of  his  motley,  sirnply  because  he  would 
go  and  play  with  Satyrs  instead  of 
keeping  company  with  plain  and  simple 
folk. 

Far  separated  from,  the  crowd  of  fools, 
save  only  in  their  fate,  were  those  who 
amid  the  mists  of  error  saw  the  light  of 
Truth,  and  strove  to  tell  men  of  her 
graces  and  perfections.  The  vulgar 
crowd  heeded  not  the  message,  and 
despised  the  messengers.  They  could 
see  no  difference  between  the  philosopher's 
robe  and  the  fooVs  motley,  the  Saint's 
glory  aftd  Satan's  hoof.  But  with  eager 
eyes  and  beating  hearts  the  toilers  after 
Truth  zvorked  on. 


Preface.  xi 

"  How  many  with  sad  faith  have  sought  her  ? 
How  many  with  crossed  hands  have  sighed  for 

her? 
How  many  with  brave  hearts  fought  for  her. 

At  life''s  dear  peril  wrought  for  her, 

So  loVid  her  that  they  died  for  her, 

Tasting  the  raptured  flcetness 

Of  her  Divine  completeness  ?  " 

In  honour  of  these  scholars  of  an  elder 
age,  little  understood  by  their  fellows, 
who  caused  them  to  suffer  for  the  sake 
of  the  Truth  they  loved,  we  doff  our  caps, 
whether  they  jingle  or  not,  as  you  please  ; 
and  if  thou  thinkest,  good  reader,  that 
''twere  folly  to  lose  a  life  for  such  a  cause, 
the  hells  will  match  the  rest  of  thy  garb. 
The  learning,  too,  of  the  censors  and 
critics  was  often  indeed  remarkable. 
They  condemned  a  recondite  treatise  on 
Trigonometry,  because  they  imagined  it 
contained  heretical  opinions  concerning 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  and  another 
work  which  was  devoted  to  the  study  of 
Insects  was  prohibited,  because  they  co)i- 
cluded  that  it  voas  a  secret  attack  upon 
the  Jesuits.      Well  might  poor  Galileo 


xii  Preface. 

exclaim^  ^^  And  are  these  then  my  judges?^' 
Stosshis,  who  wrote  a  goodly  book  with 
the  title  "  Concordia  rationis  et  fidei," 
which  was  duly  honoured  by  being  burnt 
at  Berlin,  thus  addresses  his  slaughtered 
offspring,  and  speculates  on  the  reason 
of  its  condemnation  :  "  Ad  librum  a 
ministerio  damnatum. 

"  Q.  Parve  liber,  quid  enini  peccasti,  denie  sinistro. 
Quod  te  discerptuni  turba  sacrata  velit  ? 
R.  Invisuin  dixi  verum,  propter  quod  et  olim, 
Vel  dontinutn  letho  turba  sacrata  dedit." 

But  think  not,  O  Book-lover,  that  I 
am  about  to  record  all  the  race  of  fools 
who  have  made  themselves  uncomfortable 
through  their  insane  love  of  writing,  nor 
count  all  the  books  which  have  become 
instruments  of  accusation  against  their 
authors.  That  library  would  be  a  large 
one  which  contained  all  such  volumes. 
I  may  only  write  to  thee  of  some  of  them 
now,  and  if  thou  shouldest  require  more, 
some  other  time  I  may  tell  thee  of  them. 
Perhaps  in  a  corner  of  thy  book-shelves 
thou  wilt  collect  a  store  of  Fatal  Books, 


Preface.  xiii 

many  of  which  are  rare  and  hard  to  find. 
Know,  too,  that  I  have  derived  some  of 
the  titles  of  works  herein  recorded  from 
a  singular  and  rare  work  of  M.  John 
Christianus  Klotz,  published  in  Latin  at 
Leipsic,  in  the  year  175 1.      To  these  I 
have   added    many   others.       The   Bio- 
graphical Dictionary  of  Bayle  is  a  mine 
from  which  I  have  often  quarried,  and 
discovered    there   many   rare   treasures. 
Our  own  learned  literary  historian,  Mr. 
Isaac  Disraeli,  has  recorded  the  woes  of 
many  of  our  English  writers  in  his  book 
entitled  "  The   Calamities  of  Authors," 
and  also  in  his  "  Curiosities  of  Litera- 
ture."    From  these  works  I  have  derived 
some  information.      There  is  a  work  by 
Menkenius,     '^  Analecta    de    Calamitatc 
Literatorum"  ;  another  by  Pierius  Valer- 
ianus,   "  De   Infelicitate   Literatorum  " ; 
another  by  Spizelius,  ^'■Infelix  Literatus  "; 
and  last  but  Jiot  least  Peignofs  "  Dic- 
tionnaire  Critique,  Litter  aire   et   Biblio- 
graphique,    des    Livres    condamne's    au 
Feu,"  which  will  furnish  thee  with  further 


xiv  Preface. 

information  concerning  the  woes  of 
authors,  if  thine  appetite  be  not  already 
sated. 

And  if  there  be  any  of  Folly s  crowd 
who  read  this  book — of  those,  I  mean, 
who  work  and  toil  by  light  of  midnight 
lamp,  weaving  from  their  brains  page 
upon  page  of  lore  and  learning,  wearing 
their  lives  out,  all  for  the  sake  of  an 
ungrateful  public,  which  cares  little  for 
their  labour  and  scarcely  stops  to  thank 
the  toiler  for  his  pains — if  there  be  any 
of  you  who  read  these  pages,  it  will  be 
as  pleasant  to  you  to  feel  safe  and  free 
from  the  stern  critics^  modes  of  former 
days,  as  it  is  to  watch  the  storms  and 
tempests  of  the  sea  from  the  secure  retreat 
of  your  study  chair. 

And  if  at  any  lime  a  cross-grained 
reviewer  shoidd  treat  thy  cherished  book 
with  scorn,  and  presume  to  ridicule  thy 
sentiment  and  scoff  at  thy  style  (which 
Heaven  forfend!),  console  thyself  that 
thou  livest  in  peaceable  and  enlightened 
times,  and  needest  fear  that  no  greater 


Preface.  xv 

evil  can  befall  thee  on  account  of  thy 
folly  in  writing  than  the  lash  of  his 
satire  and  the  bitterness  of  his  caustic 
pen.  After  the  manner  of  thy  race  thou 
wilt  tempt  Fortune  again.  May'st  thou 
proceed  and  prosper  !     Vale. 


/  desire  to  express  my  many  thanks  to 
the  Rev.  Arthur  Carr,  M.A.,  late  Fellow 
of  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  for  his  kind 
assistance  in  revising  the  proofs  of  this 
work.  It  was  my  intention  to  dedicate 
this  book  to  Mr.  fohn  Walter,  but  alas  ! 
his  death  has  deprived  it  oj  that  distinc- 
tion. It  is  only  possible  now  to  inscribe 
to  the  memory  of  him  whom  England 
mourns  the  results  of  some  literary 
labour  in  which  he  was  pleased  to  take 
a  kindly  interest. 


P.  H.  D. 


Barkham  Rectory, 
November,  1894. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 
THEOLOGY. 

PAGE 

Michael  Molinos  —  Bartholomew  Carranza— 
Jerome  Wecchiettus  —  Samuel  Clarke — 
Francis  David  —  Antonio  de  Dominis — 
Noel  Bede — William  Tyndale — Arias  Mon- 
tanus — John  Huss — Antonio  Bruccioli — 
Enzinas — Louis  Le  Maistre — Caspar  Peucer 
— Grotius — Vorstius —  Pasquier  Quesnel — 
Le  Courayer— Savonarola — Michael  Ser- 
vetus  —  Sebastian  Edzardt  —  William  of 
Ockham— Ab61ard I 

CHAPTER    IL 
FANATICS    AND    FREE-THINKERS. 

Quirinus  Kuhlmann— John  Tennhart— Jeremiah 
Felbinger— Simon  Morin— Liszinski— John 
Toland —Thomas  Woolston— John  Biddle 
—  Johann  Lyser  —  ernardino  Ochino— 
Samuel  Friedrich  Willcnberg     .  ^ 


xviii  Contents. 

CHAPTER   III. 

ASTROLOGY,    ALCHEMY,    AND   MAGIC. 

PAGE 

Henry  Cornelius  Agrippa  —  Joseph  Francis 
Borri — Urban  Grandier — Dr.  Dee — Edward 
Kelly — ^John  Darrell 6o 

.     CHAPTER    IV. 

SCIENCE   AND    PHILOSOPHY. 

Bishop  Virgil — Roger  Bacon — Galileo— Jordano 
Bruno — Thomas  Campanella — De  Lisle  de 
Sales — Denis  Diderot — Balthazar  Bekker — 
Isaac  de  la  Peyrere — Abb6  de  Marolles — 
Lucilio  Vanini— Jean  Rousseau  ...      76 

CHAPTER    V. 


Antonius  Palearius  —  Caesar  Baronius — John 
Michael  Bruto  —  Isaac  Berruyer  —  Louis 
Elias  Dupin — Noel  Alexandre — Peter  Gian- 
none — Joseph  Sanfelicius  (Eusebius  Philo- 
pater) — ,'\rlotto  —  Bonfadio  —  De  Thou — 
Gilbert  G6nebrard— Joseph  Audra— Beau- 
melle— John  Mariana— John  B.  Primi — 
John  Christopher  Rudiger —  Rudbeck — 
Franpois  Haudicquer — Fran9ois  de  Rosieres 
— Anthony  Urseus     .....      96 

CHAPTER   VI. 

POLITICS   AND   STATESMANSHIP. 

John  Fisher — Reginald  Pole — "  Martin  Marpre- 
late  " — Udal — Penry —  Hacket — Coppinger 
—  Arthington  —  Cartwright  —  Cowell  — 


Contents. 


Leighton— John  Stubbs — Peter  Wentworth 

—  R.  Doleman  —  J.  Hales  -  Reboul  — 
William  Prynne— Burton — Bastwick — ^John 
Selden — ^John  Tutchin — Delaune — Samuel 
Johnson  —  Algernon  Sidney  —  Edmund 
Richer — ^Johnde  Falkemberg — ^Jean  Lenoir 
— Simon  Linguet — Abbe  Caveirac — Dari- 
grand  —  Pietro  Sarpi — Jerome  Maggi — 
Theodore  Reinking    .         .         .         .         .    I  1 9 

CHAPTER    VII. 

SATIRE. 

Roger  Rabutin  de  Bussy — M.  Dassy — Trajan 
Boccalini — Pierre  Billard — Pietro  Aretino 
— Felix  Hemmerlin — John  Giovanni  Cinelli 

—  Nicholas  Francus  —  Lorenzo  Valla  — 
Ferrante  Pallavicino — Franqois  Gacon — 
Daniel  Defoe — Du  Rosoi — GasparScioppius    148 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

POETRY. 

Adrian  Beverland  —  Cecco  d'Ascoli  —  George 
Buchanan — Nicodemus  Frischlin — Clement 
Marot — Gaspar  Weiser — lohn  Williams — 
Deforges  —  Th6ophile  —  Helot  —  Matteo 
Palmieri — La  Grange — Pierre  Petit — Vol- 
taire —  Montgomery  —  Keats  —  Joseph 
Ritson 169 

CHAPTER   IX. 

DRAMA    AND    ROMANCE. 

Sir  John  Yorke  and  Catholic  Plays — Abraham 
Cowley — Antoine  Danchet — Claude  Cre- 
billon  — Nogaret  —  Francois  de  Salignac 
F6n61on 190 


XX  Contents. 

CHAPTER   X. 
BOOKSELLERS   AND   PUBLISHERS. 

PAGE 

The  Printers  of  Nicholas  de  Lyra  and  Caesar 
Baronius— John  Fust — Richard  Grafton — 
Jacob  van  Liesvelt — John  Lufftius — Robert 
Stephens  (Estienne) — Henry  Stephens — 
Simon  Ockley  —  Floyer  Sydenham  — 
Edmund  Castell — Page — John  Lilbume — 
Etienne  Dolet  —  John  Morin — Christian 
Wechel — Andrew  Wechel — Jacques  Froull^ 
— Godonesche — William  Anderton     .         .    200 

CHAPTER   XI. 

SOME    LITERARY     MARTYRS. 

Leland — Strutt — Cotgrave — Henry  Wharton — 
Robert  Heron — Collins — William  Cole — 
Homeric  victims — Joshua  Barnes — An  ex- 
ample of  unrequited  toil — Borgarutius — 
Pays 223 

Index 235 


BOOKS  FATAL    TO 
AUTHORS. 


THEIR 


CHAPTER    I. 

Theology. 

Michael  Molinos  —  Bartholomew  Carranza  — 
Jerome  Wecchiettus  —  Samuel  Clarke  — 
Francis  David — Antonio  de  Dominis-  Noel 
Bede — William  Tyndale — Arias  Montanus— 
John  Huss — Antonio  Bruccioli — Enzinas — 
Louis  Le  Maistre — Caspar  Peucer — Grotius 
— Vorstius — Pasquier  Quesnel — Le  Courayer 
— Savonarola— Michael  Servetus — Sebastian 
Edzardt— William  of  Ockham— Abelard. 

INCE  the  knowledge  of  Truth  is 
the  sovereign  good  of  human 
nature,  it  is  natural  that  in  every 
age  she  should  have  many 
seekers,  and  those  who  ventured  in  quest 
of  her  in  the  dark  days  of  ignorance  and 
superstition  amidst  the  mists  and  tempests 
of  the  sixteenth  century  often  ran  counter 
to  the  opinions  of  dominant  parties,  and 


2      Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

fell  into  the  hands  of  foes  who  knew  no 
pity.  Inasmuch  as  Theology  and  Religion 
are  the  highest  of  all  studies — the  aroma 
scie?itiariaii — they  have  attracted  the  most 
powerful  minds  and  the  subtlest  intellects 
to  their  elucidation ;  no  other  subjects 
have  excited  men's  minds  and  aroused 
their  passions  as  these  have  done ;  on 
account  of  their  unspeakable  importance, 
no  other  subjects  have  kindled  such  heat 
and  strife,  or  proved  themselves  more 
fatal  to  many  of  the  authors  who  wrote 
concerning  them.  In  an  evil  hour  per- 
secutions were  resorted  to  to  force  con- 
sciences, Roman  Catholics  burning  and 
torturing  Protestants,  and  the  latter 
retaliating  and  using  the  same  weapons  ; 
surely  this  was,  as  Bacon  wrote,  "  to 
bring  down  the  Holy  Ghost,  instead  of 
the  likeness  of  a  dove,  in  the  shape  of  a 
vulture  or  raven  ;  and  to  set,  out  of  the 
bark  of  a  Christian  Church,  a  flag  of  a 
bark  of  pirates  and  assassins." 

The  historian  then  will  not  be  surprised 
to  find  that  by  far  the  larger  number  of 
Fatal  Books  deal  with  these  subjects  of 
Theology  and  Religion,  and  many  of  them 
belong  to  the  stormy  period  of  the 
Reformation.  They  met  with  severe 
critics  in  the  merciless  Inquisition,  and 
sad  was  the  fate  of  a  luckless  author  who 


Theology.  3 

found  himself  opposed  to  the  opinions 
of  that  dread  tribunal.  There  was  no 
appeal  from  its  decisions,  and  if  a  taint 
of  heresy,  or  of  what  it  was  pleased  to 
call  heresy,  was  detected  in  any  book, 
the  doom  of  its  author  was  sealed,  and 
the  ingenuity  of  the  age  was  well-nigh 
exhausted  in  devising  methods  for  ad- 
ministering the  largest  amount  of  torture 
before  death  ended  his  woes. 

Tanfuin  rcligio  potuit  suaderc  ntalortiwi. 

Liberty  of  conscience  was  a  thing  un- 
known in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries ;  and  while  we  prize  that  liberty 
as  a  priceless  possession,  we  can  but 
admire  the  constancy  and  courage  of 
those  who  lived  in  less  happy  days.  We 
are  not  concerned  now  in  condemning 
or  defending  their  opinions  or  their 
beliefs,  but  we  may  at  least  praise  their 
boldness  and  mourn  their  fate. 

The  first  author  we  record  whose 
works  proved  fatal  to  him  was  Michael 
Molinos,  a  Spanish  theologian  born  in 
1627,  a  pious  and  devout  man  who 
resided  at  Rome  and  acted  as  confessor. 
He  published  in  1675  "^^^^  Spiritual 
Manual,  which  was  translated  from 
Italian  into  Latin,  and  together  with  a 
treatise   on    The   Daily    Communion    was 


4      Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

printed  with  this  title :  A  Spiritual 
Manual,  releasing  the  soul  and  leading 
it  along  the  interior  way  to  the  acquiring 
the  perfection  of  contemplation  and  the  rich 
treasure  of  internal  peace.  In  the  preface 
Molinos  writes:  "Mystical  theology  is  not  a 
science  of  the  imagination,  but  of  feelings  ; 
we  do  not  understand  it  by  study,  but  we 
receive  it  from  heaven.  Therefore  in  this 
little  work  I  have  received  far  greater  as- 
sistance from  the  infinite  goodness  of  God, 
who  has  deigned  to  inspire  me,  than  from 
the  thoughts  which  the  reading  of  books 
has  suggested  to  me."  The  object  of  the 
work  is  to  teach  that  the  pious  mind  must 
possess  quietude  in  order  to  attain  to  any 
spiritual  progress,  and  that  for  this  pur- 
pose it  must  be  abstracted  from  visible 
objects  and  thus  rendered  susceptible  of 
heavenly  influence.  This  work  received 
the  approval  of  the  Archbishop  of  the 
kingdom  of  Calabria,  and  many  other 
theologians  of  the  Church.  It  won  for  its 
author  the  favour  of  Cardinal  Estrgeus  and 
also  of  Pope  Innocent  XI.  It  was  ex- 
amined by  the  Inquisition  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  passed  that  trying 
ordeal  unscathed.  But  the  book  raised 
up  many  powerful  adversaries  against  its 
author,  who  did  not  scruple  to  charge 
Molinos  with  Judaism,  Mohammedanism, 


Theology.  5 

and  many  other  "isms,"  but  without  any 
avail,  until  at  length  they  approached 
the  confessor  of  the  King  of  Naples,  and 
obtained  an  order  addressed  to  Cardinal 
Estrasus  for  the  further  examination  of 
the  book.  The  Cardinal  preferred  the 
favour  of  the  king  to  his  private  friend- 
ship. Molinoswas  tried  in  1685,  and  two 
years  later  was  conducted  in  his  priestly 
robes  to  the  temple  of  Minerva,  where 
he  was  bound,  and  holding  in  his  hand 
a  wax  taper  was  compelled  to  renounce 
sixty-eight  articles  which  the  Inquisition 
decreed  were  deduced  from  his  book. 
He  was  afterwards  doomed  to  perpetual 
imprisonment.  On  his  way  to  the  prison 
he  encountered  one  of  his  opponents  and 
exclaimed,  "Farewell,  my  father;  we  shall 
meet  again  on  the  day  of  judgment,  and 
then  it  will  be  manifest  on  which  side, 
on  yours  or  mine,  the  Truth  shall  stand." 
For  eleven  long  years  Molinos  languished 
in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  where 
he  died  in  1696.  His  work  was  translated 
into  French'  and  appeared  in  a  Recueil 
de  pieces  sur  le  Quictisme,  published  in 
Amsterdam  1688.  JNIohnos  has  been 
considered  the  leader  and  founder  of  the 
Quietism  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
monks  of  Mount  Athos  in  the  fourteenth, 
the  Molinosists,  Madame  Guyon,  Fenelon, 


6      Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

and  others  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
all  belonged  to  that  contemplative  com- 
pany of  Christians  who  thought  that  the 
highest  state  of  perfection  consisted  in  the 
repose  and  complete  inaction  of  the  soul, 
that  life  ought  to  be  one  of  entire  passive 
contemplation,  and  that  good  works  and 
active  industry  were  only  fitting  for  those 
who  were  toiling  in  a  lower  sphere  and 
had  not  attained  to  the  higher  regions  of 
spiritual  mysticism.  Thus  the  'Ho-vxao-rat 
on  Mount  Athos  contemplated  their  nose 
or  their  navel,  and  called  the  effect  of 
their  meditations  "  the  divine  light,"  and 
Molinos  pined  in  his  dungeon,  and  left 
his  works  to  be  castigated  by  the  renowned 
Bossuet.  The  pious,  devout,  and  learned 
Spanish  divine  was  worthy  of  a  better 
fate,  and  perhaps  a  little  more  quietism 
and  a  little  less  restlessness  would  not  be 
amiss  in  our  busy  nineteenth  century. 

The  noblest  prey  ever  captured  by 
those  keen  hunters,  the  Inquisitors,  was 
Bartholomew  Carranza,  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,  in  1558,  one  of  the  richest  and 
most  powerful  prelates  in  Christendom. 
He  enjoyed  the  favour  of  his  sovereign 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  whom  he  accompanied 
to  England,  and  helped  to  burn  our 
English  Protestants.  Unfortunately  in 
an   evil   hour   he   turned   to   authorship. 


Theology.  7 

and    published    a   catechism   under   this 
title:    Commentarios   sobre   el  Cateqidsmo 
Cristiano   divididos   en   quatro  partes   las 
quales    contietmi  fodo    loque   professamor 
en  el  sancto  baptismo,  como  se  vera  en  la 
plana  seguiente  dirigidos  al  serenissimo  Roy 
de  Espana    (Antwerp).      On  account  of 
this  work  he  was  accused  of  Lutheranism, 
and  his  capture  arranged  by  his  enemies. 
At  midnight,  after   the   Archbishop  had 
retired  to  rest,  a  knock  was  heard  at  the 
door   of    the   chamber.      "Who   calls?" 
asked  the  attendant  friar.     "  Open  to  the 
Holy  Office,"  was  the  answer.     Immedi- 
ately the  door  flew  open,  for  none  dared 
resist  that  terrible  summons,  and  Ramirez, 
the  Inquisitor-General  of  Toledo,  entered. 
The  Archbishop  raised  himself  in  his  bed, 
and  demanded  the  reason  of  the  intrusion. 
An  order  for  his  arrest  was  produced,  and 
he  was  speedily  conveyed  to  the  dungeons 
of  the  Inquisition  at  Valladolid.    For  seven 
long  years  he  hngered  there,  and  was  then 
summoned  to  Rome  in  1566  by  Pius  V. 
and  imprisoned  for  six  years  in  the  Castle 
of  St.  Angelo.      The  successor  of  Pope 
Pius  v.,   Gregory  XIII.,  at   length  pro- 
nounced him  guilty  of  false  doctrine.    His 
catechism  was  condemned ;  he  was  com- 
pelled to  abjure  sixteen  propositions,  and 
besides  other  penances  he  was  confined 


8      Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

for  five  years  in  a  monastery.  Broken 
down  by  his  eighteen  years'  imprisonment 
and  by  the  hardships  he  had  undergone, 
he  died  sixteen  days  after  his  cruel  sen- 
tence had  been  pronounced.*  On  his 
deathbed  he  solemnly  declared  that  he 
had  never  seriously  offended  with  regard 
to  the  Faith.  The  people  were  very  indig- 
nant against  his  persecutors,  and  on  the 
day  of  his  funeral  all  the  shops  were  closed 
as  on  a  great  festival.  His  body  was 
honoured  as  that  of  a  saint.  His  captors 
doubtless  regretted  his  death,  inasmuch 
as  the  Pope  is  said  to  have  received  a 
thousand  gold  pieces  each  month  for 
sparing  his  life,  and  Philip  appropriated 
the  revenues  of  his  see  for  his  own 
charitable  purposes,  which  happened  at 
that  time  to  be  suppression  of  heresy  in 
the  Netherlands  by  the  usual  means  of 
rack  and  fire  and  burying  alive  helpless 
victims. 

A  very  fatal  book  was  one  entitled 
Opus  de  afino  primitivo  ab  exordio  vmndi, 
ad  annum  Julia^ium  accommodato,  et  de 
sacrorum  temporuvi  ratione.  Augustce- 
Vtnde/icoruni,  1621,  in  folio  mag?io.  It 
is  a  work  of  Jerome  Wecchiettus,  a 
Florentine     doctor     of    theology.      The 

*  Cf.  The  Church  of  Spain,  by  Canon  Meyrick. 
(National  Churches  Series.) 


Theology.  9 

Inquisition  attacked  and  condemned  the 
book  to  the  flames,  and  its  author  to 
perpetual  imprisonment.  Being  absent 
from  Rome  he  was  comparatively  safe, 
but  surprised  the  whole  world  by 
voluntarily  submitting  himself  to  his 
persecutors,  and  surrendering  himself  to 
prison.  This  extraordinary  humility 
disarmed  his  foes,  but  it  did  not  soften 
much  the  hearts  of  the  Inquisitors,  who 
permitted  him  to  end  his  days  in  the  cell. 
The  causes  of  the  condemnation  of  the 
work  are  not  very  evident.  One  idea 
is  that  in  his  work  the  author  pretended 
to  prove  that  Christ  did  not  eat  the 
passover  during  the  last  year  of  His  life  ; 
and  another  states  that  he  did  not 
sufficiently  honour  the  memory  of  Louis 
of  Bavaria,  and  thus  aroused  the  anger 
of  the  strong  supporters  of  that  ancient 
house. 

The  first  English  author  whose  woes 
we  record  is  Samuel  Clarke,  who  was 
born  at  Norwich  in  1675,  and  was  for 
some  time  chaplain  to  the  bishop  of  that 
see.  He  was  very  intimate  with  the 
scientific  men  of  his  time,  and  especially 
with  Newton.  In  1704  he  published  his 
Boyle  Lectures,  A  Treatise  oft  the  Being 
arid  Attributes  of  God,  and  on  Natural 
and  Revealed  Religion,   which   found   its 


10    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

way  into  other  lands,  a  translation  being 
published  in  Amsterdam  in  1721.  Our 
author  became  chaplain  to  Queen  Anne 
and  Rector  of  St.  James's.  He  was  a 
profoundly  learned  and  devout  student, 
and  obtained  a  European  renown  as  a  true 
Christian  philosopher.  In  controversy  he 
encountered  foemen  worthy  of  his  steel, 
such  as  Spinosa,  Hobbes,  Dodwell,  Collins, 
Leibnitz,  and  others.  But  in  17 12  he 
published  The  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  which  was  declared  to  be  opposed 
to  the  Christian  belief  and  tainted  with 
Arianism.  The  attention  of  Parliament 
was  called  to  the  book ;  the  arguments 
were  disputed  by  Edward  Wells,  John 
Edwards,  and  William  Sommer;  and 
Clarke  was  deprived  of  his  offices.  The 
charge  of  heterodoxy  was  certainly  never 
proved  against  him ;  he  did  good  service 
in  trying  to  stem  the  flood  of  rationalism 
prevalent  in  his  time,  and  his  work  was 
carried  on  by  Bishop  Butler.  His  corres- 
pondence with  Leibnitz  on  Time,  Space, 
Necessity,  and  Liberty  was  published  it 
1 7 17,  and  his  editions  of  Csesar  and 
Homer  were  no  mean  contributions  to 
the  study  of  classical  literature. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  there  lived 
in  Hungary  one  Francis  David,  a  man 
learned  in  the   arts   and   languages,   but 


Theology.  1 1 

his  inconstancy  and  fickleness  of  mind 
led  him  into  diverse  errors,  and  brought 
about  his  destruction.  He  left  the 
Church,  and  first  embraced  Calvinism ; 
then  he  fled  into  the  camp  of  the  Semi- 
Judaising  party,  publishing  a  book  De 
Christo  non  invocatido,  which  was 
answered  by  Faustus  Socinus,  the  founder 
of  Socinianism.  The  Prince  of  Transyl- 
vania, Christopher  Bathori,  condemned 
David  as  an  impious  innovator  and 
preacher  of  strange  doctrines,  and  cast 
him  into  prison,  where  he  died  in  1579. 
There  is  extant  a  letter  of  David  to  the 
Churches  of  Poland  concerning  the 
millennium  of  Christ. 

Our  next  author  was  a  victim  to  the 
same  inconstancy  of  mind  which  proved  so 
fatal  to  Francis  David,  but  sordid  reasons 
and  the  love  of  gain  without  doubt 
influenced  his  conduct  and  produced  his 
fickleness  of  faith.  Antonio  de  Dominis, 
Archbishop  of  Spalatro,  was  a  shining 
light  of  the  Roman  Church  at  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  was  born 
in  1566,  and  educated  by  the  Jesuits. 
He  was  learned  in  history  and  in  science, 
and  was  the  first  to  discover  the  cause 
of  the  rainbow,  his  explanation  being 
adopted  and  perfected  by  Descartes.  The 
Jesuits    obtained  for  him   the    Professor- 


12    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

ship  of  Mathematics  at  Padua,  and  of 
Logic  and  Rhetoric  at  Brescia.  After  his 
ordination  he  became  a  popular  preacher 
and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Segni,  and 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Spalatro  in  Dal- 
matia.  He  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
controversy  between  the  Republic  of 
Venice  and  the  Pope,  and  after  the  re- 
conciliation between  the  two  parties  was 
obliged  by  the  Pope  to  pay  an  annual 
pension  of  five  hundred  crowns  out  of  the 
revenues  of  his  see  to  the  Bishop  of  Segni. 
This  highly  incensed  the  avaricious  prelate, 
who  immediately  began  to  look  out  for  him- 
self a  more  lucrative  piece  of  preferment. 
He  applied  to  Sir  Dudley  Carleton,  the 
English  Ambassador  at  Venice,  to  know 
whether  he  would  be  received  into  the 
Church  of  England,  as  the  abuses  and 
corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome  pre- 
vented him  from  remaining  any  longer  in 
her  communion. 

King  James  I.  heartily  approved  of  his 
proposal,  and  gave  him  a  most  honourable 
reception,  both  in  the  Universities  and  at 
Court.  AH  the  English  bishops  agreed 
to  contribute  towards  his  maintenance. 
Fuller  says :  "  It  is  incredible  what  flocking 
of  people  there  was  to  behold  this  old 
archbishop  now  a  new  convert ;  prelates 
and  peers  presented  him  with  gifts  of  high 


Theology.  13 

valuation."  Other  writers  of  the  period 
describe  him  as  "  old  and  corpulent/'  but 
of  a  "  comely  presence '' ;  irascible  and 
pretentious,  gifted  with  an  unlimited 
assurance  and  plenty  of  ready  wit  in 
writing  and  speaking;  of  a  "jeering 
temper,"  and  of  a  most  grasping  avarice. 
He  was  ridiculed  on  the  stage  in  Middle- 
ton's  play.  The  Game  of  Chess,  as  the  "  Fat 
Bishop."  "He  was  well  named  De 
Dominis  in  the  plural,"  says  Crakanthorp, 
"  for  he  could  serve  two  masters,  or 
twenty,  if  they  paid  him  wages." 

Our  author  now  proceeded  to  finish  his 
great  work,  which  he  published  in  16 17  in 
three  large  folios — De  Republicd  Ecclesias- 
tica,  of  which  the  original  still  exists 
among  the  Tanner  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford.  "  He  exclaims,"  says 
Fuller,  " '  in  reading,  meditation,  and 
writing,  I  am  almost  pined  away,'  but  his 
fat  cheeks  did  confute  his  false  tongue  in 
that  expression."  In  this  book  he  shows 
that  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Roine 
can  easily  be  disproved  from  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, that  it  receives  no  support  from  the 
judgment  of  history  and  antiquity,  that 
the  early  bishops  of  that  see  had  no 
precedence  over  other  bishops,  nor  were 
in  the  least  able  to  control  those  of  other 
countries.   He  declares  that  the  inequality 


14    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

in  power  amongst  the  Apostles  is  a  human 
invention,  not  founded  on  the  Gospels  ; 
that  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  the  priest  does 
not  offer  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  but  only 
the  commemoration  of  that  sacrifice  ;  that 
the  Church  has  no  coercive  power,  that 
John  Huss  was  wrongfully  condemned  at 
the  Council  of  Constance  ;  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  promised  to  the  whole  Church, 
and  not  only  to  bishops  and  priests  ;  that 
the  papacy  is  a  fiction  invented  by  men  ; 
and  he  states  many  other  propositions 
which  must  have  been  somewhat  distaste- 
ful to  the  Pope  and  his  followers. 

James  rewarded  De  Dominis  by  con- 
ferring on  him  the  Mastership  of  the 
Savoy  and  the  Deanery  of  Windsor,  and 
he  further  increased  his  wealth  by  pre- 
senting himself  to  the  rich  living  of  West 
Ilsley,  in  Berkshire. 

In  an  unfortunate  moment  he  insulted 
Count  Gondomar,  the  Spanish  Ambas- 
sador, who  determined  to  be  revenged, 
and  persuaded  the  Pope  to  send  the  most 
flattering  offers  if  he  would  return  to  his 
former  faith.  Pope  Gregory  XV.,  a 
relative  of  De  Dominis,  had  just  ascended 
the  Papal  throne.  The  bait  took.  De 
Dominis,  discontented  with  the  non 
inultum  supra  quadringentas  libras  annuas 
which    he    received    in    England,    and 


Theology.  1 5 

pining  after  the  duodecim  viillia  Coro- 
natorum  promised  by  the  Pope,  resolved 
to  leave  our  shores.  James  was  indignant. 
Bishop  Hall  tried  to  dissuade  him  from 
his  purpose.  "Tell  me,  by  the  Immortal 
God,  what  it  -is  that  can  snatch  you  from 
us  so  suddenly,  after  a  delay  of  so  many 
years,  and  drive  you  to  Rome?  Has 
our  race  appeared  to  you  inhospitable, 
or  have  we  shown  favour  to  your  virtues 
less  than  you  hoped  ?  You  cannot  plead 
that  this  is  the  cause  of  your  departure, 
upon  whom  a  most  kind  sovereign  has 
bestowed  such  ample  gifts  and  conferred 
such  rich  offices."  The  Archbishop  was 
questioned  by  the  Bishops  of  London 
and  Durham,  by  order  of  the  king,  with 
regard  to  his  intentions,  and  commanded 
to  leave  the  country  within  twenty  days. 
He  was  known  to  have  amassed  a  large 
sum  of  money  during  his  sojourn  in 
England,  and  his  trunks  were  seized,  and 
found  to  contain  over  ^i,6oo.  De 
Dominis  fled  to  Brussels,  and  there  wrote 
his  Consilium  Reditus,  giving  his  reasons 
for  rejoining  the  Roman  Church,  and 
expecting  daily  his  promised  reward — a 
cardinal's  hat  and  a  rich  bishopric.  His 
hopes  were  doomed  to  be  disappointed. 
For  a  short  time  he  received  a  pension 
from  Gregory  XV.,  but  this  was  discon- 


1 6    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tinued  by  Urban  VIII.,  and  our  author 
became  dissatisfied  and  imprudently 
talked  of  again  changing  his  faith.  He 
was  heard  to  exclaim  at  supper  on  one 
occasion,  "  That  no  Catholic  had  answered 
his  book,  De  Republica  Ecdesiastica^  but 
that  he  himself  was  able  to  deal  with 
them."  The  Inquisition  seized  him,  and 
he  was  conveyed  to  the  Castle  of  St. 
Angelo,  where  he  soon  died,  as  some 
writers  assert,  by  poison.  His  body  and 
his  books  were  burned  by  the  executioner, 
and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the  Tiber. 
Dr.  Fitzgerald,  Rector  of  the  English 
College  at  Rome,  thus  describes  him : 
"  He  was  a  malcontent  knave  when  he 
fled  from  us,  a  railing  knave  when  he 
lived  with  you,  and  a  motley  parti- 
coloured knave  now  he  is  come  again." 
He  had  undoubtedly  great  learning  and 
skill  in  controversy,*  but  avarice  was  his 
master,  and  he  was  rewarded  according  to 
his  deserts.f 

The  lonely  fortress  of  Mont-Saint- 
Michel    saw    the   end   of   a   bitter   con- 

*  His  opinion  with  regard  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Metropolitan  over  suffragan  bishops  was 
referred  to  in  the  recent  trial  of  the  Bishop  of 
Lincoln. 

t  Cf.  article  by  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Penny  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Berks  Archccological  Society,  on 
Antonio  de  Dominis. 


Theology.  17 

troversialist,  Noel  Bede,  who  died  there 
in  1587.  }ie  y^rote  NaiaHs  Bedce,doctoris 
Theol.  Parisiensis  annotationiim  in  Eras- 
mi  paraphrases  Novi  Testamenii,  et 
Jacobi  Fabri^  Stapulensis  comnientarios  in 
Evangelistas,  Paidique  Epistolas,  Libri 
III.,  Farisiis,  1526,  in-foL  This  work 
abounds  in  vehement  criticisms  and 
violent  declamations.  Erasmus  did  not 
fail  to  reply  to  his  calumniator,  and 
detected  no  less  than  eighty-one  false- 
hoods, two  hundred  and  six  calumnies, 
and  forty-seven  blasphemies.  Bede  con- 
tinued to  denounce  Erasmus  as  a  heretic, 
and  in  a  sermon  before  the  court  re- 
proached the  king  for  not  punishing  such 
unbelievers  with  sufficient  rigour.  The 
author  was  twice  banished,  and  finally 
was  compelled  to  make  a  public  retracta- 
tion in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame,  for 
having  spoken  against  the  king  and  the 
truth,  and  to  be  exiled  to  Mont-Saint- 
Michel. 

Translators  of  the  Bible  fared  not 
well  at  the  hands  of  those  who  were 
unwilling  that  the  Scriptures  should  be 
studied  in  the  vulgar  tongue  by  the  lay- 
folk,  and  foremost  among  that  brave  band 
of  self-sacrificing  scholars  stands  William 
Tyndale.  His  life  is  well  known,  and 
needs   no   recapitulation;  but  it  may  be 


1 8     Books  Fatal  to  their  Aiithoi's. 

noted  that  his  books,  rather  than  his 
work  of  translating  the  Scriptures,  brought 
about  his  destruction.  His  important 
work  called  The  Practice  of  Prelates, 
which  was  mainly  directed  against  the 
corruptions  of  the  hierarchy,  unfortunately 
contained  a  vehement  condemnation  of 
the  divorce  of  Catherine  of  Arragon  by 
Henry  VIII.  This  deeply  offended  the 
monarch  at  the  very  time  that  negotia- 
tions were  in  progress  for  the  return  of 
Tyndale  to  his  native  shores  from 
Antwerp,  and  he  declared  that  he  was 
"very  joyous  to  have  his  realm  destitute 
of  such  a  person."  The  Practice  of 
Prelates  was  partly  written  in  answer  to 
the  Dialogue  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  who 
was  commissioned  to  combat  the  "per- 
nicious and  heretical"  works  of  the 
"impious  enemies  of  the  Church." 
Tyndale  wrote  also  a  bitter  Answer  to  the 
Dialogue,  and  this  drew  forth  from  More 
his  abusive  and  scurrilous  Cotifutation, 
.which  did  little  credit  to  the  writer  or 
to  the  cause  for  which  he  contended. 
Tyndale's  longest  controversial  work,  en- 
titled The  Obedience  of  a  Christian  Man, 
and  ho7t>  Christiaji  Rulers  ought  to  govern, 
although  it  stirred  up  much  hostility 
against  its  author,  very  favourably  im- 
pressed King  Henry,  who  delighted  in  it, 


Theology.  19 

and  declared  that  "  the  book  was  for  him 
and  for  all  kings  to  read."  The  story  of 
the  burning  of  the  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  at  St.  Paul's  Cross  by  Bishop 
Tunstall,  of  the  same  bishop's  purchase 
of  a  "heap' of  the  books"  for  the  same 
charitable  purpose,  thereby  furnishing 
Tyndale  with  means  for  providing 
another  edition  and  for  printing  his 
translation  of  the  Pentateuch,  all  this  is  a 
thrice-told  tale.  Nor  need  we  record  the 
account  of  the  conspiracy  which  sealed 
his  doom.  For  sixteen  months  he  was 
imprisoned  in  the  Castle  of  Vilvoord,  and 
we  find  him  petitioning  for  some  v/arm 
clothing  and  "  for  a  candle  in  the  evening, 
for  it  is  wearisome  to  sit  alone  in  the 
dark,"  and  above  all  for  his  Hebrew 
Bible,  Grammar,  and  Dictionary,  that  he 
might  spend  his  time  in  that  study. 
After  a  long  dreary  mockery  of  a  trial  on 
October  i6th,  1536,  he  was  chained  to 
a  stake  with  faggots  piled  around  him. 
"  As  he  stood  firmly  among  the  wood, 
with  the  executioner  ready  to  strangle 
him,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  and 
cried  with  a  fervent  zeal  and  loud  voice, 
'  Lord,  open  the  King  of  England's 
eyes  ! '  and  then,  yielding  himself  to  the 
executioner,  he  was  strangled,  and  his 
body  immediately  consumed."    That  same 


20     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

year,  by  the  King's  command,  the  first 
edition  of  the  Bible  was  published  in 
London.  If  Tyndale  had  confined  him- 
self to  the  great  work  of  translating  the 
Scriptures,  and  had  abandoned  con- 
troversy and  his  Practice  of  Prelates,  his 
fate  might  have  been  different;  but,  as 
Mr.  Froude  says,  "  he  was  a  man  whose 
history  has  been  lost  in  his  work,  and 
whose  epitaph  is  the  Reformation." 

Another  translator,  whose  fate  was  not 
so  tragic,  was  the  learned  Arias  Montanus, 
a  Spaniard,  who  produced  at  the  com- 
mand of  King  Phihp  II.  the  famous 
Polyglot  Bible  printed  at  Antwerp  in 
nine  tomes.  He  possessed  a  wonderful 
knowledge  of  several  languages,  and  de- 
voted immense  labour  to  his  great  work. 
But  in  spite  of  the  royal  approval  of  his 
work  his  book  met  with  much  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  extreme  Roman  party, 
who  accused  him  to  the  Pope  and  made 
many  false  charges  against  him.  The 
Pope  was  enraged  against  Montanus,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  go  to  Rome  to  plead 
his  cause.  He  at  length  obtained  pardon 
from  the  Pope,  and  escaped  the  "  chariots 
of  fire  "  which  bore  the  souls  of  so  many 
martyred  saints  to  heaven.  It  is  a  curious 
irony  of  fate  that  Montanus,  who  was  one 
of  the  chief  compilers  of  the  Index  Ex- 


Theology.  21 

purgatorius,  should   live  to   see  his  own 
work  placed  on  the  condemned  list. 

The  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  John 
Huss  is  well  known,  and  need  not  be 
here  related,  but  perhaps  the  books  which 
caused  his_  death  are  not  so  frequently 
studied  or  their  titles  remembered.  His 
most  important  work  was  his  -De  Ecclesia, 
in  which  he  maintained  the  rigid  doctrine 
of  predestination,  denied  to  the  Pope  the 
title  of  Head  of  the  Church,  declaring 
that  the  Pope  is  the  vicar  of  St.  Peter, 
if  he  walk  in  his  steps  ;  but  if  he  give 
in  to  covetousness,  he  is  the  vicar  of  Judas 
Iscariot.  He  reprobates  the  flattery  which 
was  commonly  used  towards  the  Pope, 
and  denounces  the  luxury  and  other  cor- 
ruptions of  the  cardinals.  Besides  this 
treatise  we  have  many  others — Adv.  In- 
dulgentias,  De  Erectione  Cruets,  etc.  He 
wrote  in  Latin,  Bohemian,  and  German, 
and  recently  his  Bohemian  writings  have 
been  edited  by  K.  J.  Erben,  Prague  (1865). 
His  plain  speaking  aroused  the  fury  of 
his  adversaries,  and  he  knew  his  danger. 
On  one  occasion  he  made  a  strange 
challenge,  offering  to  maintain  his  opinions 
in  disputation,  and  consenting  to  be  burnt 
if  his  conclusions  were  proved  to  be 
wrong,  on  condition  that  his  opponents 
should  submit  to  the  same  fate  in  case 


22     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

of  defeat.  But  as  they  would  only  sacri- 
fice one  out  of  the  company  of  his  foes,  he 
declared  that  the  conditions  were  unequal, 
and  the  challenge  was  abandoned.  AVhen 
at  last  he  was  granted  a  safe  conduct  by 
the  Emperor  Sigismund,  and  trusted  him- 
self to  the  Council  of  Constance,  his  fate 
was  sealed.  Even  in  his  noisome  prison 
his  pen  (when  he  could  procure  one)  was 
not  idle,  and  Huss  composed  during  his 
confinement  several  tracts  on  religious 
subjects.  At  length  his  degradation  was 
completed  ;  a  tall  paper  cap  painted  with 
hideous  figures  of  devils  was  placed  upon 
his  head,  and  a  bishop  said  to  him,  "  We 
commit  thy  body  to  the  secular  arm,  and 
thy  soul  to  the  devil."  "And  I,"  replied 
the  martyr,  "commit  it  to  my  most 
merciful  Lord,  Jesus  Christ."  When  on 
his  way  to  execution  he  saw  his  Fatal 
Books  being  burnt  amidst  an  excited 
crowd,  he  smiled  and  remarked  on  the 
folly  of  people  burning  what  they  could 
not  read. 

Another  translator  of  the  Bible  was 
Antonio  Bruccioli,  who  published  in 
Venice,  in  1546,  the  following  edition  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures :  Biblia  e7i  letigua 
toscana,  cioe,  i  tutti  i  santi  libri  del  vecchio 
y  Novo  Testamento,  ifi  lengua  toscana^  dalla 
hebraica  vertta,  e  fonte  greco,  con  commento 


Theology.  23 

da  Antotiio  Bruccioli.  Although  a  Roman 
Catholic,  he  favoured  Protestant  views, 
and  did  not  show  much  love  for  either 
the  monks  or  priests.  His  bold  com- 
ments attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Inquisition,  who  condemned  his  work  and 
placed  it  on  the  Index.  The  author  was 
condemned  to  death  by  hanging,  but 
happily  for  him  powerful  friends  inter- 
ceded, and  his  punishment  was  modified 
to  a  two  years'  banishment.  He  died  in 
1555,  when  Protestant  burnings  were  in 
vogue  in  England. 

Enzinas,  the  author  of  a  Spanish  trans- 
lation of  the  New  Testament  entitled 
El  Nuevo  Testaniento  de  N.  Redeviptor  y 
Salvador  J.  C.  traduzido  eti  lengua  castel- 
lana  {En  Ainberes,  1543,  in-8),  dedicated 
his  work  to  Charles  V.  But  it  caused 
him  to  be  imprisoned  fifteen  months. 
Happily  he  discovered  a  means  of  escape 
from  his  dungeon,  and  retired  to  safe 
quarters  at  Geneva.  In  France  he 
adopted  the  novi-de-plume  of  Dryander, 
and  his  History  of  the  Netherlands  and  of 
Religion  in  Spain  forms  part  of  the 
Protestant  martyrology  published  in 
Germany.  The  author's  brother,  John 
Dryander,  was  burnt   at  Rome  in  1545. 

The  Jansenist  Louis  Le  Maistre,  better 
known  under  the  name  of  de  Sacy,  was 


24     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

imprisoned  in  the  Bastille  on  account  of 
his  opinions  and  also  for  his  French 
translation  of  the  New  Testament,  pub- 
lished at  Mons,  in  1667,  and  entitled  Le 
Nouveau  Testa7?ietit  de  N.  S.  /.  C,  traduit 
en  francais  selon  Peditmi  Vulgate,  avec 
les  differences  du  grec  (2  vols.,  in-12). 
This  famous  work,  known  by  the  name 
of  the  New  Testament  of  Mons,  has  been 
condemned  by  many  popes,  bishops,  and 
other  authorities.  Louis  Le  Maistre  was 
assisted  in  the  work  by  his  brother,  and 
the  translation  was  improved  by  Arnaud 
and  Nicole.  Pope  Clement  IX.  described 
the  work  as  "  rash,  pernicious,  different 
from  the  Vulgate,  and  containing  many 
stumbling-blocks  for  the  unlearned." 
When  confined  in  the  Bastille,  Le  Maistre 
and  his  friend  Nicolas  Fontaine  wrote 
Les  Figures  de  la  Bible,  which  work  is 
usually  attributed  to  the  latter  author. 
According  to  the  Jesuits,  the  Port-Royalists 
are  represented  under  the  figure  of  Uavid, 
their  antagonists  as  Saul.  Louis  XIV. 
appears  as  Rehoboam,  Jezebel,  Ahasuerus, 
and  Darius.  But  these  fanciful  interpre- 
tations are  probably  due  to  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  critics. 

The  fate  of  Caspar  Peucer  enforces  the 
truth  of  the  old  adage  that  "  a  shoemaker 
ought  to  stick  to  his  last,"  and  shows  that 


Theology.  25 

those  men  court  adversity  who  meddle 
with  matters  outside  their  profession. 
Peucer  was  a  doctor  of  medicine  of  the 
academy  of  Wiirtemberg,  and  wrote 
several  works  on  astronomy,  medicine, 
and  history.  He  was  a  friend  of 
Melanchthon,  and  became  imbued  with 
Calvinistic  notions,  which  he  manifested 
in  his  publication  of  the  works  of  the 
Reformer.  On  account  of  this  he  was  im- 
prisoned eleven  years.  By  the  favour  of 
the  Elector  he  was  at  length  released, 
and  wrote  a  History  of  his  Captivity 
(Zurich,  1605).  A  curious  work,  entitled 
A  Treatise  on  Divination^  was  published 
by  Peucer  at  Wiirtemberg,  written  in  Latin, 
in  1552.  He  ranks  among  the  most 
learned  men  of  Germany  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

There  were  many  Fatal  Books  in  Hol- 
land during  the  famous  controversy  between 
the  Arminians  and  the  Gomarists,  which 
ended  in  the  famous  Synod  of  Dort,  and 
for  vehemence,  bigotry,  and  intolerance  is 
as  remarkable  as  any  which  can  be  found 
in  ecclesiastical  history.  The  learned 
historian  Grotius  was  imprisoned,  but  he 
wrote  no  book  which  caused  his  mis- 
fortune. Indeed  his  books  were  instru- 
mental in  his  escape,  which  was  effected 
by   means   of    his   large    box   containing 


26     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

books  brought  into  the  prison  by  his  wife. 
When  removed  from  the  prison  it  con- 
tained, not  the  books,  but  the  author. 
Vorstius,  the  successor  of  Arminius  as 
Professor  of  Theology  at  Leyden,  was  not 
so  happy.  His  book,  Tradatus  de  Deo, 
sen  de  natiira  et  attributis  Dei  (Steinfurti, 
1610,  in-4),  aroused  the  vengeance  of  the 
Gomarists,  and  brought  about  the  loss 
of  his  professorship  and  his  banishment 
from  Holland ;  but  any  injustice  might 
have  been  expected  from  that  extra- 
ordinary Synod,  where  theology  was  mysti- 
fied, religion  disgraced,  and  Christianity 
outraged.* 

Few  books  have  created  such  a  sensa- 
tion in  the  world  or  aroused  so  prolonged 
a  controversy  as  Les  Reflexions  Morales 
of  Pasquier  Quesnel,  published  in  167 1. 
The  full  title  of  the  work  is  Le  Nouveau 
Testamefit  en  Fraficais,  avec  des  reflexions 
morales  sur  chaque  verset  (Paris,  1671, 
r  vol.,  in- 1 2),  pour  les  quatre  Evangiles 
seulement.  Praslard  was  the  publisher.  In 
1693  and  1694  appeared  another  edition, 
containing  his  reflexions  inorales,  not  only 
on  the  Gospels,  but  also  on  the  Acts 
and  the  Epistles.  Many  subsequent  edi- 
tions have  appeared.     Not  only  France, 

*  Cf.  Church  in  the  Netherlands,  by  P.  H.  Ditch- 
field,  chap.  xvii. 


Theology.  27 

but  the  whole  of  the  Western  Church 
was  agitated  by  it,  and  its  far-reaching 
effects  have  hardly  yet  passed  away.  It 
caused  its  author  a  long  period  of  incar- 
ceration ;  it  became  a  weapon  in  the 
hands  of  -  the  Jesuits  to  hurl  at  the 
Jansenists,  and  the  Papal  Bull  pronounced 
against  it  was  the  cause  of  the  separation 
of  a  large  body  of  the  faithful  from  the 
communion  of  the  Roman  Church,  Its 
author  was  born  at  Paris  in  1634,  and 
was  educated  in  the  congregation  of  the 
Oratory.  Appointed  director  of  its  school 
in  Paris,  he  wrote  Fe?isees  Chr'etiennes 
sur  les  quatre  Evangiles,  which  was  the 
germ  of  his  later  work.  In  1684  he 
fled  to  Brussels,  because  he  felt  himself 
unable  to  sign  a  formulary  decreed  by  the 
Oratorians  on  account  of  its  acceptance 
of  some  of  the  principles  of  Descartes  to 
which  Arnauld  and  the  famous  writers 
of  the  school  of  Port-Royal  always  offered 
vehement  opposition. 

A  second  edition  of  Reflexions  Morales 
appeared  in  1694  with  the  approval  of  De 
Noailles,  then  Bishop  of  Chalons,  after- 
wards Archbishop  of  Paris.  But  a  few 
years  later,  by  the  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits, 
and  by  the  order  of  Philip  V.,  Quesnel  was 
imprisoned  at  Mechlin.  In  1703  he  es- 
caped and  retired  to  Amsterdam,  where  he 


28     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

died  in  1 7 1 9.  But  the  history  of  the  book 
did  not  close  with  the  author's  death.  It 
was  condemned  by  Pope  Clement  XI.  in 
1708  as  infected  with  Jansenism.  Four 
years  later  an  assembly  of  five  cardinals  and 
eleven  theologians  sat  in  judgment  upon 
it ;  their  deliberations  lasted  eighteen 
months,  and  the  result  of  their  labours 
was  the  famous  Bull  Unigenitus,  which 
condemned  one  hundred  and  one  pro- 
positions taken  from  the  writings  of 
Quesnel. 

The  unreasonableness  and  injustice  of 
this  condemnation  may  be  understood 
from  the  following  extracts  : — 

Proposition  50. — "  It  is  in  vain  that  we 
cry  to  God,  My  Father,  if  it  is  not  the 
Spirit  of  love  that  cries." 

This  is  described  as  "  pernicious  in 
practice,  and  offensive  to  pious  ears." 

Proposition  54. — "  It  is  love  alone  that 
speaks  to  God ;  it  is  love  alone  that  God 
hears.'' 

This,  according  to  the  cardinals,  "  is 
scandalous,  temerarious,  impious,  and 
erroneous." 

The  acceptance  of  the  Bull  was  a  great 
stumbling-block  to  many  churchmen. 
Louis  XIV.  forced  it  upon  the  French 
bishops,  who  were  entertained  at  a  sump- 
tuous banquet  given  by  the  Archbishop  of 


Theology.  29 

Strasbourg  and  by  a  large  majority  decided 
against  the  Quesnelites.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  follow  the  history  of  this  controversy 
further.  France  was  long  agitated  by  it, 
and  the  Church  of  Holland  was  and  is 
excommunicate  from  Rome  mainly  on 
account  of  its  refusal  to  accept  the  Bull 
Unigenitus,  which  was  called  forth  by 
and  so  unjustly  condemned  Quesnel's 
famous  book. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  this 
Bull  we  may  mention  the  work  of  one 
of  its  most  vehement  opponents,  Pierre 
Fran9ois  le  Courayer,  of  the  order  of  the 
canons  regular  of  St.  Augustine,  who  wrote 
a  book  of  great  interest  to  English  church- 
men, entitled  Dissertation  sur  la  validite 
des  Ordinations  Anglicanes  (Bruxelles, 
1723,  2  vols.,  in-12).  This  book  was  con- 
demned and  its  author  excommunicated. 
He  retired  to  the  shelter  of  the  Church 
whose  right  of  succession  he  so  ably  de- 
fended, and  died  in  London  in  1776. 

Few  authors  have  received  greater  hon- 
our for  their  works,  or  endured  severer 
calamities  on  account  of  them,  than  the 
famous  Florentine  preacher  Savonarola. 
Endowed  with  a  marvellous  eloquence, 
imbued  with  a  spirit  of  enthusiastic  patriot- 
ism and  intense  devotion,  he  inveighed 
against  the  vices  of  the  age,  the  worldliness 


30     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

of  the  clergy,  the  selfish  ease  of  the  wealthy 
while  the  poor  were  crying  for  bread  in 
want  and  sickness.  The  good  citizens  of 
Florence  believed  that  he  was  an  angel 
from  heaven,  that  he  had  miraculous 
powers,  could  speak  with  God  and  fore- 
tell the  future ;  and  while  the  women  of 
Florence  cast  their  jewels  and  finery  into 
the  flames  of  the  "  bonfire  of  vanities,"  the 
men,  inspired  by  the  preacher's  dreams 
of  freedom,  were  preparing  to  throw  off 
the  yoke  of  the  Medicis  and  proclaim  a 
grand  Florentine  Republic.  The  revolu- 
tion was  accomplished,  and  for  three  years 
Savonarola  was  practically  the  ruler  of  the 
new  state.  His  works  were :  Conwienta- 
tiuncula  de  Mahumetanorum  secta  :  Tri- 
umphus  crucis,  sive  de  fidei  Christiana: 
veritate  in  four  books  (1497),  de  Siviplicitate 
vito'^  Christiance  in  five  books,  and  Co7ji- 
pendiuin  Revelationis  (1495),  ^'^d  many 
volumes  of  his  discourses,  some  of  which 
are  the  rarest  treasures  of  incunabula.* 
The  austerity  of  his  teaching  excited  some 
hostility  against  him,  especially  on  the 
part  of  the  monks  who  did  not  belong 
to  his  order — that  of  the  Dominicans. 
He  had  poured  such  bitter  invective 
both  in  his  books  and  in  his  sermons 
upon   the   vices   of  the    Popes   and   the 

*  At  Venice  in  the  library  of  Leo  S.  Olschki  I 


Theology.  3 1 

Cardinals,  that  they  too  formed  a  power- 
ful party  in  league  against  him.  In 
addition  the  friends  of  the  Medicis 
resented  the  overthrow  of  their  power, 
and  the  populace,  ever  fickle  in  their 
affections,  required  fresh  wonders  and 
signs  to  keep  them  faithful  to  their 
leader.  The  opportunity  of  his  enemies 
came  when  Charles  VIII.  of  France 
retired  from  Florence.  They  accused 
Savonarola  of  all  kinds  of  wickedness. 
He  was  cast  into  prison,  tortured,  and 
condemned  to  death  as  a  heretic.  In 
what  his  heresy  consisted  it  were   hard 

have  met  with  some  of  these  volumes,  the  rarest 
of  which  is  entitled  : — 

PREDICHE    DEL    REVERENDO 
PADRE    FRATE    HIERONYMO 

Da  Ferrara  facte  lanno  del.  1 496 

negiorni  delle  feste,  finito  che 

hebbe  la  qiiaresinta  :  &'  prima 

riposatosi  circa  iino  inese 

ricomiiicio  eldi  di  Sco 

M telle le  Adi.  viii  di 

Maggio.  MCCCC 

LXXXXVI. 

The  text  commences  "  CREDITE  IN  Dfio  Deo 
uestro  &  securi  eritis."  In  the  cell  of  Savonarola 
at  the  Monastery  of  St.  Mark  is  preserved  a 
MS.  volume  of  the  famous  preacher.  The  writ- 
ing is  very  small,  and  must  have  taxed  the  ski!! 
of  the  printers  in  deciphering  it. 


32     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

to  discover.     It  was  true  that  when  his 
poor,  shattered,  sensitive  frame  was  being 
torn   and   rent   by   the   cruel   engines  of 
torture,    he    assented    to    many    things 
which   his   persecutors    strove    to    wring 
from  him.     The  real  cause  of  his  destruc- 
tion  was   not   so    much   the   charges   of 
heresy  which   were   brought   against   his 
books  and  sermons,  as  the  fact  that  he 
was    a    person    inconvenient    to     Pope 
Alexander   VI.     On  the    23rd   of    May, 
1498,   he   met   his   doom    in    the    great 
piazza  at  Florence  where  in  happier  days 
he  had  held  the  multitude  spell-bound  by 
his   burning  eloquence.     There  sentence 
was  passed  upon  him.      Stripped  of  his 
black   Dominican   robe   and   long    white 
tunic,     he     was     bound     to     a     gibbet, 
strangled  by  a  halter,  and  his  dead  body 
consumed     by     fire,     his     ashes     being 
thrown  into  the  river   Arno.     Such  was 
the  miserable  end  of  the  great  Florentine 
preacher,    whose    strange    and    complex 
character   has   been   so   often   discussed, 
and   whose    remarkable    career   has   fur- 
nished a  theme  for  poets  and  romance- 
writers,    and   forms   the  basis  of  one  of 
the    most    powerful    novels    of   modern 
times. 

Not  only  were  the  Inquisitors  and  the 
Cardinals   guilty  of  intolerance   and   the 


Theology.  33 

stern  rigour  of  persecution,  but  the 
Reformers  themselves,  when  they  had 
the  power,  refrained  not  from  torturing 
and  burning  those  who  did  not  accept 
their  own  particular  belief.  This  they 
did  not  merely  out  of  a  spirit  of  revenge 
conceived  against  those  who  had  formerly 
condemned  their  fathers  and  brethren 
to  the  stake,  but  sometimes  we  see 
instances  of  Reformers  slaughtering  Re- 
formers, because  the  victims  did  not 
hold  quite  the  same  tenets  as  those  who 
were  in  power.  Poor  Michael  Servetus 
shared  as  hard  a  fate  at  the  hands  of 
Calvin,  as  ever  "  heretic "  did  at  the 
hands  of  the  Catholics ;  and  this  fate 
was  entirely  caused  by  his  writings.  This 
author  was  born  in  Spain,  at  Villaneuva 
in  Arragon,  in  1509.  At  an  early  age 
he  went  to  Africa  to  learn  Arabic,  and 
on  his  return  settled  in  France,  studying 
law  at  Toulouse,  and  medicine  at  Lyons 
and  Paris. 

But  the  principles  of  the  Reformed 
religion  attracted  him ;  he  studied  the 
Scriptures  in  their  original  languages, 
and  the  writings  of  the  fathers  and 
schoolmen.  Unhappily  his  perverse 
and  self-reliant  spirit  led  him  into  grievous 
errors  with  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity.      In   vain   the   gentle   Reformer 

3 


34     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

CEcolampadius  at  Basle  reasoned  with 
him.  He  must  needs  disseminate  his 
opinions  in  a  book  entitled  De  Trinitatis 
Erroribiis,  which  has  handed  the  name 
of  Servetus  down  to  posterity  as  the 
author  of  errors  opposed  to  the  tenets 
of  the  Christian  Faith.  Bucer  declared 
that  he  deserved  the  most  shameful  death 
on  account  of  the  ideas  set  forth  in  this 
work.  In  his  next  work,  Dialogues  on  the 
Trinity  and  A  Treatise  o?i  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ,  Servetus  somewhat  modified  his 
views,  and  declared  that  his  former 
reasonings  were  merely  "those  of  a  boy 
speaking  to  boys  "  ;  but  he  blamed  rather 
the  arrangement  of  his  book,  than  re- 
tracted the  opinions  he  had  expressed. 

He  also  annotated  Pagnini's  Latin 
version  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  entitled 
Biblia  sacra  latina  ex  hebmo,  per  Sanctum 
Pagninum,  cum  prcBfatione  et  scholiis 
Michaelis  Villanovani  {Michel  Servet). 
Lugduni,  a  Porta,  1542,  in-folio.  This 
edition  was  vigorously  suppressed  on 
account  of  the  notes  of  Servetus. 

After  sojourning  some  time  in  Italy, 
he  returned  to  France  in  1534,  and 
settled  at  Lyons,  where  he  published  a 
new  and  highly  esteemed  edition  of 
the  Geography  of  Ptolemy,  inscribing 
himself  as    Michael    Villanovanus,   from 


Theology.  35 

the  name  of  his  birthplace.  His  former 
works  had  been  published  under  the 
name  of  Reves,  formed  by  the  transposi- 
tion of  the  letters  of  his  family  name. 
In  Paris  he  studied  medicine,  and  began 
to  set  forth  novel  opinions  which  led 
him  into  conflict  with  other  members 
of  the  faculty.  In  one  of  his  treatises  he 
is  said  to  have  suggested  the  theory  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood.  In  1540 
he  went  to  Vienne  and  published  anony- 
mously his  well-known  work  De  Restitu- 
tione  Christiajiismi.  This  book,  when 
its  authorship  became  known,  brought 
upon  him  the  charge  of  heresy,  and  he 
was  cast  into  prison.  Powerful  friends 
enabled  him  to  escape,  and  his  enemies 
were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with 
burning  his  effigy  and  several  copies  of 
his  books  in  the  market-place  at  Vienne. 
Servetus  determined  to  fly  to  Naples,  but 
was  obliged  to  pass  through  Geneva,  where 
at  the  instigation  of  the  great  Reformer 
Calvin  he  was  seized  and  cast  into  prison. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  course  of 
Servetus'  ill-fated  history,  the  bitter  hos- 
tility of  Calvin,  the  delays,  the  trials  and 
colloquies.  At  length  he  was  condemned, 
and  the  religious  world  shuddered  at  the 
thought  of  seeing  the  pile  lighted  by  a 
champion  of  the  Reformation  and  religious 


36     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

freedom.  Loud  and  awful  shrieks  were 
heard  in  the  prison  when  the  tidings  of 
his  sentence  were  conveyed  to  Servetus. 
Soon  the  fatal  staff  was  broken  over  his 
head  as  a  sign  of  his  condemnation,  and 
on  the  Champel  Hill,  outside  the  gates  of 
Geneva,  the  last  tragic  scene  took  place. 
With  his  brow  adorned  with  a  crown  of 
straw  sprinkled  with  brimstone,  his  Fatal 
Books  at  his  side,  chained  to  a  low  seat^ 
and  surrounded  by  piles  of  blazing 
faggots,  the  newness  and  moisture  of 
which  added  greatly  to  his  torture,  in 
piteous  agony  Servetus  breathed  his  last, 
a  sad  spectacle  of  crime  wrought  in 
religion's  name,  a  fearful  example  of  how 
great  woes  an  author  may  bring  upon 
himself  by  his  arrogance  and  self-suffi- 
ciency. The  errors  of  Servetus  were 
deplorable,  but  the  vindictive  cruelty  of 
his  foes  creates  sympathy  for  the  victim 
of  their  rage,  and  Calvin's  memory  is  ever 
stained  by  his  base  conduct  to  his  former 
friend. 

The  name  of  Sebastian  Edzardt  is  not 
so  well  known.  He  was  educated  at 
Wiirtemberg,  and  when  Frederick  I.  of 
Prussia  conceived  the  desire  of  uniting 
the  various  reformed  bodies  with  the 
Lutherans,  he  published  a  w^ork  Be  causis 
et    natiira   tinmiis,    and    a    treatise   Ad 


Theology.  37 

Calvanianorum  Pelagianisinum.     In  this 
book  he  charged  the  Calvinists  with  the 
Pelagian    heresy — a   charge    which    they 
were   accustomed    to   bring   against    the 
Lutherans.     It  was  written  partly  against 
a  book  of  John  Winckler,  Arcanum  Regium 
de     conciliandis     religionibus     siibditorum 
diffidentibus,  published  in  1703  in  support 
of  the  King's  designs.     In  the  same  year 
he   published  Impietas   cohortis  fanatica, 
expropriis  Speneri,  Rechenbergii,  Fetersemi, 
Thomasii,     Artio/di,    Schutzii,    Boehnieri, 
aliorumqiie  fanaticorum  scriptis,  phisqiiain 
apodictis  argumentis,  ostensa.     Hambitrgt, 
Kcenig,   1703,  in-^.     This  work  was  sup- 
pressed    by    order     of    the     senate     of 
Hamburg.      Frederick    was    enraged    at 
Edzardt's  opposition  to  his  plans,  ordered 
his  first  book  to  be  burnt,  and  forbade 
any   one   to   reply   to   it.     Nor   was   our 
author  more  successful  in  his  other  work, 
Kurtzer     Entwurff    der    Einigkeit     der 
Evangelisch-Lutherischen  und  Reforinirten 
im     Griinde    des     Glaubens :    von     dieser 
Vereinigi/ng    eigentlicher  Natur  und  Be- 
schaffenheit,  wherein  he  treated  of  various 
systems     of    theology.      This    too     was 
publicly   burnt,   but    of    the   fate   of   its 
author  I  have  no  further  particulars. 

The     last    of    the     great    schoolmen, 
William  of  Ockham,    called  the  "  Invin- 


38     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

cible  Doctor,"  suffered  imprisonment  and 
exile  on  account  of  his  works.  He  was 
born  at  Ockham  in  Surrey  in  1280,  and, 
after  studying  at  Oxford,  went  to  the 
University  of  Paris.  He  lived  in  stirring 
times,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
great  controversies  which  agitated  the 
fourteenth  century.  Pope  John  XXH. 
ruled  at  Avignon,  a  shameless  truckster 
in  ecclesiastical  merchandise,  a  violent 
oppressor  of  his  subjects,  yet  obliged 
by  force  of  circumstances  to  be  a 
mere  subject  of  the  King  of  France. 
The  Emperor  Ludwig  IV.  ruled  in  Ger- 
many in  spite  of  the  excommunication 
pronounced  against  him  by  the  Pope. 
Many  voices  were  raised  in  support  of 
Louis  denouncing  the  assumptions  of  the 
occupant  of  the  Papal  See.  Marcilius  of 
Padua  wrote  his  famous  Defensor  Pads 
against  Papal  pretensions,  and  our  author, 
William  of  Ockham,  issued  his  still  more 
famous  Defence  of  Poverty,  which  startled 
the  whole  of  Christendom  by  its  vigorous 
onslaught  on  the  vices  of  the  Papacy  and 
the  assumptions  of  Pope  John.  The  latter 
ordered  two  bishops  to  examine  the  work, 
and  the  "  Invincible  Doctor  "  was  cast  into 
prison  at  Avignon.  He  would  certainly 
have  been  slain,  had  he  not  contrived  to 
effect  his  escape,  and  taken  refuge  at  the 


Theology.  39 

court  of  the  German  emperor,  to  whom 
he  addressed  the  words,  "  Tu  me  defendas 
gladio,  ego  te  defendant  cala^jio."  There 
he  Hved  and  wrote,  condemned  by  the 
Pope,  disowned  by  his  order,  the  Fran- 
ciscans, threatened  daily  with  sentences 
of  heresy,  deprivation,  and  imprisonment ; 
but  for  them  he  cared  not,  and  fearlessly 
pursued  his  course,  becoming  the  acknow- 
ledged leader  of  the  reforming  tendencies 
of  the  age,  and  preparing  the  material  for 
that  blaze  of  light  which  astonished  the 
world  in  the  sixteenth  century.  His  works 
have  never  been  collected,  and  are  very 
scarce,  being  preserved  with  great  care  in 
some  of  the  chief  libraries  of  Europe. 
The  scholastic  philosophy  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  disputes  between  the  Nomin- 
alists and  the  Realists,  in  which  he  took 
the  part  of  the  former,  the  principle  that 
"  entities  are  not  to  be  multiplied  except 
by  necessity,"  or  the  "  hypostatic  existence 
of  abstractions,"  have  ceased  to  create  any 
very  keen  interest  in  the  minds  of  readers. 
But  how  bitterly  the  war  of  words  was 
waged  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  !  And  it  was  not  only  a  war  of 
words  ;  one  who  witnessed  the  contests 
wrote  that  "  when  the  contending  parties 
had  exhausted  their  stock  of  verbal  abuse, 
they  often  came  to  blows  ;  and  it  was  not 


40     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

uncommon  in  their  quarrels  about  univer- 
sals,  to  see  the  combatants  engaged  not 
only  with  their  fists,  but  with  clubs  and 
swords,  so  that  many  have  been  wounded 
and  some  killed."  These  controversies 
have  passed  away,  upon  which,  says 
John  of  Salisbury,  more  time  had  been 
wasted  than  the  Caesars  had  employed  in 
making  themselves  masters  of  the  world  ; 
and  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  revive  them. 
Ockham's  principal  works  are  :  Quccstiones 
et  decisiones  in  qiiatiwr  lihros  sententiarum 
cum  centilogio  theologico  (Lyons,  1495),* 
SuDima  logiccT.  (Paris,  1483),  Quodlibeta 
(Paris,  1487),  Super  potestate  sumini 
pontifici  (1496).     He  died  at  Munich  in 

1343- 

The  Introductto  ad  Theologiam  of  the 
famous  Abelard,  another  schoolman,  was 
fatal  to  him.  Abelard's  name  is  more 
generally  known  on  account  of  the  golden 
haze  of  romance  which  surrounded  him 
and  the  fair  Heloise ;  and  their  loving 
letters  have  been  often  read  and  mourned 
over  by  thousands  who  have  never  heard 
of  his  theological  writings.  At  one  time 
the    famous   Canon    of  Notre   Dame   at 

*  I  have  met  with  a  copy  of  this  work  amongst 
the  incunabula  in  the  possession  of  M.  Olschki, 
of  Venice.  The  printer's  name  is  John  Trechsel, 
who  is  described  as  vir  hujus  artis  solertissimus. 


Theology.  41 

Paris  had  an  enthusiastic  following; 
thousands  flocked  to  his  lectures  from 
every  country ;  his  popularity  was  enor- 
mous. He  combated  the  abuses  of  the 
age  and  the  degeneracy  of  some  of  the 
clergy,  and  astonished  and  enraged  many 
by  the  boldness  of  his  speech  and  the 
novelty  of  his  opinions.  His  views  with 
regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ex- 
pressed in  his  Introdudio  (Traite  de  la 
Trinite)  were  made  the  subject  of  a 
charge  against  him,  and  certainly  they 
cannot  be  easily  distinguished  from  Sabel- 
lianism.  The  qualities  or  attributes  of  the 
Godhead,  power,  wisdom,  goodness,  were 
stated  to  be  the  three  Persons.  The  Son 
of  God  was  not  incarnate  to  deliver  us, 
but  only  to  instruct  us  by  His  discourses 
and  example.  Jesus  Christ,  God  and  Man, 
is  not  one  of  the  Persons  in  the  Trinity, 
and  a  man  is  not  properly  called  God. 
He  did  not  descend  into  hell.  Such  were 
some  of  the  errors  with  which  Abelard 
was  reproached.  Whether  they  were 
actually  contained  in  his  writings,  it  is  not 
so  evident.  We  have  only  fragments  of 
Abelard's  writings  to  judge  from,  which 
have  been  collected  by  M.  Cousin — 
Oiivrages  inedits  d' Abelard — and  therefore 
cannot  speak  with  certain  knowledge  of 
his  opinions.     At  least  they  were  judged 


42     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

to  be  blasphemous  and  heretical  by  the 
Council  of  Soissons,  when  he  was  con- 
demned to  commit  his  books  to  the  flames 
and  to  retire  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Denys. 
Some  years  later,  when  he  had  recovered 
from  the  horrible  mutilation  to  which 
he  had  been  subjected  by  the  uncle  of 
Heloise,  and  his  mind  had  acquired  its 
usual  strength,  we  find  him  at  Paris,  again 
attracting  crowds  by  his  brilliant  lectures, 
and  pouring  forth  books,  and  alas  !  another 
fatal  one,  Sic  et  No>i*  which  asked  one 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  questions  on  all 
kinds  of  subjects.  The  famous  champion 
of  orthodoxy,  St.  Bernard,  examined  the 
book,  and  at  the  Council  of  Sens  in 
1 140  obtained  a  verdict  against  its  author. 
He  said  that  poor  Abelard  was  an  infernal 
dragon  who  persecuted  the  Church,  that 
Arius,  Pelagius,  and  Nestorius  were  not 
more  dangerous,   as   Abe'lard   united   all 

*  Petri  Abelardi  Sic  et  Non  (Marburgi,  Sump- 
tibusLibrarise;  Academy  Elwertianae,  1851).  The 
best  edition  of  Abelard's  letters  is  P.  Abalaydi 
ct  Heloisce  conjitgis  ejus  Epistolce,  ab  crroribus 
piirgatce  et  ami  codd.  AISS.  collates  ciira  Richardi 
Raivlinson,  Londini,  1 7 18,  z'«-8.  There  is  also  an 
edition  published  in  Pans  in  1616,  4to,  Petii 
Abelardi  et  Heloisce  conjugis  ejus,  opera  cum 
prcvfatione  apologetica  Franc.  Amboesii,  et 
Censuia  doctorum  parisiensium ;  ex  editione 
Andrece  Quercetaiti  {Andre  Duchesne). 


Theology.  43 

these  monsters  in  his  own  person,  and 
that  he  was  a  persecutor  of  the  faith 
and  the  precursor  of  Antichrist.  These 
words  of  'the  celebrated  Abbot  of 
Clairvaux  are  more  creditable  to  his 
zeal  than  to  his  charity.  Abelard's 
disciple  Arnold  of  Brescia  attended  him 
at  the  Council,  and  shared  in  the  con- 
demnations which  St.  Bernard  so  freely 
bestowed.  Arnold's  stormy  and  eventful 
life  as  a  religious  and  political  reformer  was 
ended  at  Rome  in  1155,  where  he  was 
strangled  and  burnt  by  order  of  the 
Emperor  Frederick,  his  ashes  being  cast 
into  the  Tiber  lest  they  should  be  vener- 
ated as  relics  by  his  followers.  St.  Bernard 
described  him  as  a  man  having  the  head 
of  a  dove  and  the  tail  of  a  scorpion. 
Abelard  was  condemned  to  perpetual 
silence,  and  found  a  last  refuge  in  the 
monastery  of  Cluny.  Side  by  side  in  the 
graveyard  of  the  Paraclete  Convent  the 
bodies  of  Abelard  and  Heloise  lie,  whose 
earthly  lives,  though  lighted  by  love  and 
cheered  by  religion,  were  clouded  with 
overmuch  sorrow,  and  await  the  time 
when  all  theological  questions  will  be 
solved  and  doubts  and  difficulties  raised 
by  earthly  mists  and  human  frailties  will 
be  swept  away,  and  we  shall  "  know  even 
as  also  we  are  known." 


CHAPTER    II. 

Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers. 

Quirinus  Kuhlinann— John  Tennhart — Jeremiah 
Felbinger — Simon  Morin— Liszinski — John 
Toland — Thomas  Woolston — John  Biddle 
—  Johann  Lyser  —  Bernardino  Ochino  — 
Samuel  Friedrich  Willenberg. 

|HE  nympholepts  of  old  were 
curious  and  unhappy  beings  who, 
while  carelessly  strolling  amidst 
sylvan  shades,  caught  a  hasty 
glimpse  of  some  spirit  of  the  woods,  and 
were  doomed  ever  afterwards  to  spend 
their  lives  in  fruitlessly  searching  after  it. 
The  race  of  Fanatics  are  somewhat  akin 
to  these  restless  seekers.  There  is  a 
wildness  and  excessive  extravagance  in 
their  notions  and  actions  which  separates 
them  from  the  calm  followers  of  Truth, 
and  leads  them  into  strange  courses  and 
curious  beliefs.  How  far  the  sacred  fire 
of  enthusiasm  may  be  separated  from  the 
fierce  heat  of  fanaticism  we  need  not  now 
44 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       45 

inquire,  nor  whether  a  spark  of  the  latter 
has  not  shone  briUiantly  in  many  a  noble 
soul  and  produced  brave  deeds  and  acts 
of  piety  and  self-sacrifice.  Those  whose 
fate  is  here  recorded  were  far  removed 
from  such  noble  characters;  their  fanatic- 
ism was  akin  to  madness,  and  many  of 
them  were  fitter  for  an  asylum  rather  than 
a  gaol,  which  was  usually  their  destination. 
Foremost  among  them  was  Quirinus  Kul- 
nianus  (Kuhlmann),  who  has  been  called 
the  Prince  of  Fanatics,  and  wandered 
through  many  lands  making  many  disciples. 
He  was  born  at  Breslau  in  Silesia  in  165 1, 
and  at  an  early  age  saw  strange  visions, 
at  one  time  the  devils  in  hell,  at  another 
the  Beatific  Glory  of  God.  His  native 
country  did  not  appreciate  him,  and  he 
left  it  to  wander  on  from  university  to 
university,  publishing  his  ravings.  At 
Leyden  he  met  with  the  works  of  Boehme, 
another  fanatic,  who  wrote  a  strange  book, 
entitled  Aurora,  which  was  suppressed  by 
the  magistrates.  The  reading  of  this 
author  was  like  casting  oil  into  the  fire. 
Poor  Kuhlmann  became  wilder  still  in  his 
strange  fanaticism,  and  joined  himself  to 
a  pretended  prophet,  John  Rothe,  whom 
the  authorities  at  Amsterdam  incarcerated, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  foretell 
with  greater  certainty  than  he  had  done 


46     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

other  things  when  and  after  what  manner 
he  should  be  released.  Kuhlmann  then 
wrote  a  book,  entitled  Prodronms  Qiiin- 
quennii Mirabilis,  and  published  at  Leyden 
in  1674,  in  which  he  set  forth  his  peculiar 
views.  He  stated  that  in  that  same  year  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  or  the  Christian  Kingdom 
was  about  to  commence,  that  he  himself 
would  bring  forth  a  son  from  his  own 
wife,  that  this  son  by  many  miracles 
would  found  the  kingdom,  and  that  he 
himself  was  the  Son  of  God.  On  account 
of  these  mad  ravings  he  was  exiled  by 
the  Chief  of  the  United  Provinces  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  expelled  with  infamy 
from  the  University  of  Leyden.  But  his 
strange  mission  did  not  cease.  He  wan- 
dered for  some  time  in  France  and  England, 
where  he  printed  at  his  own  expense  several 
small  books  in  1681  and  1682,  amongst 
others  one  piece  addressed  to  Mahomet 
IV.,  De  Conversione  Turcarum.  The 
following  passage  occurs  in  this  fantastic 
production:  "You  saw,  some  months 
ago,  O  great  Eastern  Leader,  a  comet 
of  unusual  magnitude,  a  true  prognostic 
of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Jesuelites,  that  is, 
of  the  restoration  of  all  people  to  the 
one-three  God.  O  well  is  thee,  that  thou 
hast  turned  thy  mind  before  God,  and  by 
proclaiming  a  general  fast  throughout  thy 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       47 

empire,  hast  begun  to  fulfil  the  words  of 
the  Lord  to  the  prophet  Drabicius."  He 
declares  that  if  the  Christians  refuse  to 
perform  his  will  in  destroying  the  kingdom 
of  Antichrist,  the  Turks  and  Tartars  shall 
do  it,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  Christians, 
which  will  be  a  horror  to  angels  and  to 
men. 

He  then  proceeded  to  Turkey  on  his 
mission,  and  presented  himself  to  the 
Sultan.  Although  ignorant  of  the  language 
of  the  country,  he  persuaded  himself  that 
he  could  speak  in  any  tongue  ;  but  when 
they  led  him  into  the  presence  of  the 
Sultan  he  waited  in  vain  for  the  burning 
words  of  eloquence  to  flow.  The  Turks 
dealt  with  him  according  to  his  folly,  and 
bestowed  on  him  a  sound  thrashing. 
Thence  he  proceeded  to  Russia,  and 
when  he  was  about  to  marry  a  second 
wife,  his  former  spouse  being  left  in 
England,  the  Patriarch  of  the  Russian 
Church  condemned  him  to  be  burnt  at 
Moscow  in  1689.  A  follower  of  Kuhl- 
mann's,  named  Nordermann,  who  also 
wrote  a  book  on  the  Second  Advent  of 
Christ,  shared  his  fate.  Kuhlmann  also 
wrote  a  volume  of  verses,  entitled  The 
Berlin  a7id  Amsterdam  "  Kuhl-FestivaV  at 
the  Gathering  of  Lutherans  and  Calvinists, 
which    sufficiently    attests     his    insanity. 


48     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  lucidity 
of  his  works :  "  The  more  I  continued 
my  doctrines,  the  more  opposition  I  re- 
ceived, so  that  also  the  higher  world  of 
light  with  which  I  am  illuminated,  in 
their  light  I  was  enlightened,  or  shadowed, 
when  I  proceeded,  and  in  their  light  lit 
I  up  brighter  lights." 

A  fitting  companion  to  Kuhlmann  was 
John  Tennhart,  a  barber  of  Nuremberg, 
born  in  1662,  who  used  to  speak  con- 
tinually of  the  visions,  dreams,  and  col- 
loquies which  he  had  with  God,  and 
boasted  that  the  office  of  a  scribe  was 
entrusted  to  him  by  the  Divine  Will. 
He  endeavoured  to  persuade  all  men  that 
the  words  he  wrote  were  verily  and  indeed 
the  words  of  God.  The  world  was  not 
disposed  to  interfere  with  the  poor  barber 
who  imagined  him.self  inspired,  but  in  an 
evil  hour  he  published  a  book  against  the 
priests,  entitled  JVorie  Goiies,  oder  Trac- 
tiitlein  an  den  so genannteji  geistlichen  Stand, 
which  caused  its  author  great  calamities. 
He  was  cast  into  prison  by  order  of  the 
senate  of  the  Nuremberg  State.  On  his 
release  he  again  published  his  former 
work,  with  others  which  he  also  believed 
to  be  inspired,  and  again  in  17 14  was 
imprisoned  at  Nuremberg.  His  incar- 
ceration did  not,  however,  last  long,  and 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       49 

Tennhart  died  while  he  was  journeying 
from  the  city  which  so  little  appreciated 
his  ravings  to  find  in  Cassel  a  more  secure 
resting-place. 

Amongst  the  fanatics  of  the  seventeenth 
century  may  be  classed  Jeremiah  Fel- 
binger,  a  native  of  Brega,  a  town  in  the 
Prussian  State  of  Silesia,  who  was  an 
early  advocate  of  the  heresy  of  the  Uni- 
tarians. For  some  years  he  was  a  soldier, 
and  then  became  a  schoolmaster.  He 
wrote  Prodromus  demonstrationis,  pub- 
lished in  1654,  in  which  he  attempted  to 
prove  his  Unitarian  ideas.  Shortly  before 
this,  in  1653,  he  wrote  Demonstrationes 
Christiana,  and  finally  his  Epistola  ad 
Christianas,  published  at  Amsterdam  in 
1672.  His  strange  views  and  perverted 
opinions  first  caused  his  dismissal  from 
the  army,  and  his  works  upon  the  Uni- 
tarian doctrines  necessitated  his  removal 
from  the  office  of  teacher.  He  then 
journeyed  to  Helmstadt,  but  there  the 
wanderer  found  no  rest ;  for  when  he  tried 
to  circulate  his  obnoxious  books,  he  was 
ordered  to  leave  the  city  before  sunset. 
Finally  he  settled  in  Amsterdam,  the 
home  of  free-thinkers,  where  men  were 
allowed  a  large  amount  of  religious  liberty  ; 
there  printers  produced  without  let  or 
hindrance  books  which  were  condemned 


50     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

elsewhere  and  could  only  be  printed  in 
secret  presses  and  obscure  corners  of 
cities  governed  by  more  orthodox  rulers. 
Here  Felbinger  passed  the  rest  of  his 
miserable  life  in  great  poverty,  earning 
a  scanty  pittance  by  instructing  youths 
and  correcting  typographical  errors.  He 
died  in  1689,  aged  seventy-three  years. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  fruitful  in 
fanatics,  and  not  the  least  mad  was  Simon 
Morin,  who  was  burnt  at  Paris  in  1663. 
His  fatal  book  was  his  Pens'ees  de  Simon 
Morin  (Paris,  1647,  ii^'S),  which  contains  a 
curious  mixture  of  visions  and  nonsense, 
including  the  principal  errors  of  the 
Quietists  and  adding  many  of  his  own. 
Amongst  other  mad  ravings,  he  declared 
that  there  would  be  very  shortly  a  general 
reformation  of  the  Church,  and  that  all 
nations  should  be  converted  to  the  true 
faith,  and  that  this  reformation  was  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  Second  Advent  of 
our  Lord  in  His  state  of  glory,  incorpo- 
rated in  Morin  himself;  and  that  for 
the  execution  of  the  things  to  which  he 
was  destined,  he  was  to  be  attended  by 
a  great  number  of  perfect  souls,  and  such 
as  participated  in  the  glorious  state  of 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  therefore  called 
the  champions  of  God.  He  was  con- 
demned by  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       51 

after  having  done  penance,  dressed  in  his  i 

shirt,  with  a  rope  round  his  neck  and  a  J 

torch  in  his  hand,  before  the  entrance  of  J 

Notre  Dame,  he  was  burnt  with  his  book  j 

and  writings,  his  ashes  being  subsequently  j 

cast   into    the   air.      Morin   had   several  ' 

followers  who  shared  his  fantastic  views,  1 

and  these  poor  "  champions  of  God  "  were  \ 

condemned  to  witness  the  execution  of 
their  leader,  to  be  publicly  whipped  and 
branded  with  the  mark  of  fleur-de-lys,  and 
to  spend  the  rest  of  their  lives  as  galley- 
slaves.  ■ 

Poland  witnessed  the  burning  of  Cazi-  , 

mir  Liszinski  in  1689,  whose  ashes  were  I 

placed  in  a  cannon  and  shot  into  the  air. 
This  Polish  gentleman  was  accused  of 
atheism  by  the  Bishop  of  Potsdam.     His  \   1 

condemnation   was    based    upon   certain  >C 

atheistical  manuscripts  found  in  his  posses- 
sion, containing  several  novel  doctrines, 
such  as  "God  is  not  the  creator  of  man  ;  '^' 
but  man  is  the  creator  of  a  God  gathered 
together  from  nothing."  His  writings 
contain  many  other  extravagant  notions  j^ 
of  the  same  kind. 

A  few  years  later  the  religious  world  of 
both  England  and  Ireland  was  excited 
and  disturbed  by  the  famous  book  of  John 
Toland,  a  sceptical  Irishman,  entitled 
Christianity     tiot    Mysterious     (London, 


i; 


52     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

1696).  Its  author  was  born  in  London- 
derry in  1670,  and  was  endowed  with  much 
natural  abihty,  but  this  did  not  avail  to 
avert  the  calamities  which  pursue  in- 
discreet and  reckless  writers.  He  wrote 
his  book  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five 
years,  for  the  purpose  of  defending  Holy 
Scripture  from  the  attacks  of  infidels  and 
atheists  ;  he  essayed  to  prove  that  there 
was  nothing  in  religion  contrary  to  sound 
reason,  and  to  show  that  the  mysteries 
of  religion  were  not  opposed  to  reason. 
But  his  work  aroused  much  opposition 
both  in  England  and  Ireland,  as  there 
were  many  statements  in  the  book  which 
were  capable  of  a  rationalistic  interpreta- 
tion. A  second  edition  was  published 
in  London  with  an  apology  by  Toland 
in  1702.  In  Dublin  he  raised  against 
himself  a  storm  of  opposition,  not  only 
on  account  of  his  book,  but  also  by  his 
vain  and  foolish  manner  of  propagating 
his  views.  He  began  openly  to  deride 
Christianity,  to  scoff  at  the  clergy,  to 
despise  the  worship  of  God,  and  so 
passed  his  life  that  whoever  associated 
with  him  was  judged  to  be  an  impious 
and  infamous  person.  He  proposed  to 
form  a  society  which  he  called  Socratia  ; 
the  hymns  to  be  sung  by  the  members 
were  the  Odes  of  Horace,  and  the  prayers 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       53 

were  blasphemous  productions,  composed 
by  Toland,  in  derision  of  those  used  in 
the  Roman  Church.  The  Council  of 
Religion  of  the  Irish  House  of  Parliament 
condemned  his  book  to  be  burnt,  and 
some  of  the  members  wished  to  imprison 
its  author,  who  after  enduring  many 
privations  wisely  sought  safety  in  flight. 
A  host  of  writers  arrayed  themselves  in 
opposition  to  Toland  and  refuted  his 
book,  amongst  whom  were  John  Norris, 
Siillingfleet,  Payne,  Beverley,  Clarke, 
Leibnitz,  and  others.  Toland  wrote  also 
The  Life  of  Miltoti  (London,  1698),  which 
was  directed  against  the  authenticity  of 
the  New  Testament ;  The  JVazarene,  or 
Christianity.,  Judaic,  Pagan,  and  Maho- 
metan (1718);  and  Pantheisticon  (1720). 
The  outcry  raised  by  the  orthodox  party 
against  the  "  poor  gentleman  "  who  had 
"  to  beg  for  half-crowns,"  and  "  ran  into 
debt  for  his  wigs,  clothes,  and  lodging," 
together  with  his  own  vanity  and  conceit; 
changed  him  from  being  a  somewhat 
free-thinking  Christian  into  an  infidel  and 
atheist  or  Pantheist.  He  died  in  extreme 
poverty  at  Putney  in  1722. 

A  fitting  companion  to  Toland  was 
Thomas  Woolston,  who  lived  about  the 
same  time ;  he  was  born  at  Northampton 
in   1669,  and  died  at  London   in    1733. 


54     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

He  was  a  free-thinker,  and  a  man  of 
many  attainments,  whose  works  became 
widely  known  and  furnished  weapons 
for  the  use  of  Voltaire  and  other  atheistical 
writers.  In  1705  he  wrote  a  book 
entitled  The  Old  Apology,  in  which  he 
endeavoured  to  show  that  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Holy  Scriptures  the  literal 
meaning  ought  to  be  abandoned,  and 
that  the  events  recorded  therein  were 
merely  allegories.  In  his  book  Free  Gifts 
to  the  Clergy  he  denounced  all  who 
favoured  the  literal  interpretation  as 
apostates  and  ministers  of  Antichrist. 
Finally,  in  his  Discourses  on  the  Miracles 
(1726)  he  denied  entirely  the  authenticity 
of  miracles,  and  stated  that  they  were 
merely  stories  and  allegories.  He  thought 
that  the  literal  account  of  the  miracles 
is  improbable  and  untrustworthy,  that 
they  were  parables  and  prophetical  recita- 
tions. These  and  many  other  such-like 
doctrines  are  found  in  his  works.  Wool- 
ston  held  at  that  time  the  post  of  tutor 
at  Sidney  Sussex  College  at  Cambridge  ; 
but  on  account  of  his  works  he  was 
expelled  from  the  College  and  cast  into 
prison.  According  to  one  account  of  his 
life,  he  died  in  prison  in  1731.  Another 
record  states  that  he  was  released  on 
paying  a  fine  of  ^100  after  enduring  one 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.        55 

year's  incarceration,  and  that  he  bore  his 
troubles  bravely,  passing  an  honest  life 
and  enduring  reproaches  with  an  equal 
mind.  Not  a  few  able  theologians  set 
themselves  the  task  of  refuting  the  errors 
of  Woolston,  amongst  whom  were  John 
Ray,  Stebbins,  Bishop  of  St.  Davids,  and 
Sherlock,  whose  book  was  translated  into 
French.  A  Life  of  Woolston  has  been 
written  anonymously  by  some  one  who 
somewhat  favoured  his  views  and  sup- 
ported his  tenets.  He  may  certainly  be 
classed  among  the  leaders  of  Free  Thought 
in  the  eighteenth  century. 

John  Biddle  was  a  vehement  advocate 
of  Socinian  and  Unitarian  opinions, 
attacking  the  belief  in  the  Trinity  and 
in  the  Divinity  of  our  Lord.  The  Holy 
Spirit  was  accounted  by  him  as  the  first 
of  the  angels  His  fatal  book  was 
entitled  The  Faith  of  one  God,  who  is  only 
the  Father,  and  of  one  Mediator  betiveen 
God  and  man,  who  is  only  the  man  Christ 
Jesus ;  and  of  one  Holy  Spirit,  the  gift, 
and  sent  of  God,  asserted  and  defended  in 
several  tracts  contained  in  this  volume 
(London,  169 1,  in-4).  This  work  was 
publicly  burnt  and  its  author  imprisoned. 
Biddle  was  born  at  Wotton-under-Edge 
in  1615  ;  he  went  to  Oxford,  and  became 
a     teacher     at     a     grammar-school      at 


56     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Gloucester.  He  underwent  several  terms 
of  imprisonment  on  account  of  the 
opinions  expressed  in  his  writings,  and 
died  in  gaol  in  1662. 

Amongst  the  fanatics  whose  works 
were  fatal  to  them  must  be  enrolled  the 
famous  advocates  of  polygamy,  Johann 
Lyser,  Bernardino  Ochino,  and  Samuel 
Friedrich  Willenberg.  Lyser  was  born 
at  Leipsic  in  1631,  and  although  he  ever 
remained  a  bachelor  and  abhorred  woman- 
kind, nevertheless  tried  to  demonstrate 
that  not  only  was  polygamy  lawful,  but 
that  it  was  a  blessed  estate  commanded 
by  God.  He  first  brought  out  a  dialogue 
written  in  the  vernacular  entitled  Sinceri 
IVahrenbergs  kurzes  Gespraech  voti  der 
Polyganiie ;  and  this  little  work  was 
followed  by  a  second  book.  Das  Koenig- 
liche  March  alkr  Laender  (YxQyhvLrg,  1676, 
in-4).  Then  he  produced  another  w-ork, 
entitled  Theophili  Alethcei  discursus  politi- 
cus  de  Polygamia.  A  second  edition  of 
this  work  followed,  which  bore  the  title 
Polygamia  triiimphatrix,  id  est,  discursus 
politicus  de  Polygamia,  auctore  Theoph. 
AlethcBO,  cum  notis  Athanasii  Vincentii, 
omnibus  Anti-polygamis,  ubique  locorum, 
terrarum,  insularum,  pagorum,  urbium 
modeste  et  pie  opposita  [Londini  Scanorum, 
1682,  in-4).     Oi^  account  of  the  strange 


Fanatics  and  Free-thinkers.       57 

views  expressed  in  this  work  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  office  of  Inspector,  and  was 
obliged  to  seek  protection  from  a  power- 
ful Count,  by  whose  advice  it  is  said  that 
Lyser  first  undertook  the  advocacy  of 
polygamy.  On  the  death  of  his  friend 
Lyser  was  compelled  frequently  to  change 
his  abode,  and  wandered  through  most 
of  the  provinces  of  Germany.  He  was 
imprisoned  by  the  Count  of  Hanover,  and 
then  expelled.  In  Denmark  his  book  was 
burned  by  the  public  executioner.  At 
another  place  he  was  imprisoned  and 
beaten  and  his  books  burned.  At  length, 
travelling  from  Italy  to  Holland,  he  en- 
dured every  kind  of  calamity,  and  after 
all  his  misfortunes  he  died  miserably  in 
a  garret  at  Amsterdam,  in  1684.  It  is 
curious  that  Lyser,  who  never  married  nor 
desired  wedlock,  should  have  advocated 
polygamy ;  but  it  is  said  that  he  was  led 
on  by  a  desire  for  providing  for  the  public 
safety  by  increasing  the  population  of  the 
country,  though  probably  the  love  of  noto- 
riety, which  has  added  many  authors' 
names  to  the  category  of  fools,  contributed 
much  to  his  madness. 

Infected  with  the  same  notions  was 
Bernardino  Ochino,  a  Franciscan,  and 
afterwards  a  Capuchin,  whose  dialogue 
De  Polygajuid  was  fatal  to  him.    Although 


58     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

he  was  an  old  man,  the  authorities  at 
Basle  ordered  him  to  leave  the  city  in  the 
depth  of  a  severe  winter.  He  wandered 
into  Poland,  but  through  the  opposition  of 
the  Papal  Nuncio,  Commendone,  he  was 
again  obliged  to  fly.  He  had  to  mourn 
over  the  death  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 
who  died  of  the  plague  in  Poland,  and 
finally  Ochino  ended  his  woes  in  Moravia. 
Such  was  the  miserable  fate  of  Ochino, 
who  was  at  one  time  the  most  famous 
preacher  in  the  whole  of  Italy.  He  had 
a  wonderful  eloquence,  which  seized  upon 
the  minds  of  his  hearers  and  carried 
them  whither  he  would.  No  church  was 
large  enough  to  contain  the  multitudes 
which  flocked  to  hear  him.  Ochino  was 
a  skilled  linguist,  and,  after  leaving  the 
Roman  Church,  he  wTOte  a  book  against 
the  Papacy  in  English,  which  was  printed 
in  London,  and  also  a  sermon  on  pre- 
destination. He  visited  England  in  com- 
pany with  Peter  Martyr,  but  on  the  death 
of  Edward  VI.,  on  account  of  the  changes 
introduced  in  Mary's  reign  these  two 
doctors  again  crossed  the  seas,  and  retired 
to  a  safer  retreat.  His  brilliant  career 
was  entirely  ruined  by  his  fatal  frenzy 
and  foolish  fanaticism  for  polygamy. 

The   third  of  this  strange   triumvirate 
was     Samuel     Friedrich     Willenberg,     a 


Fanatics  and  Free-tlimkers.       59 

doctor  of  law  of  the  famous  University  of 
Cracow,  who  wrote  a  book  Be  fittibus 
polygamicE  licitcR  and  aroused  the  hatred 
of  the  Poles.  In  17 15,  by  command  of 
the  High  Court  of  the  King  of  Poland, 
his  book  was  condemned  to  be  burnt, 
and  its  author  nearly  shared  the  same 
fate.  He  escaped,  however,  this  terrible 
penalty,  and  was  fined  one  hundred  thou- 
sand gold  pieces. 

With  these  unhappy  advocates  of  a 
system  which  violates  the  sacredness  ot 
marriage,  we  must  close  our  list  of 
fanatics  whose  works  have  proved  fatal 
to  them.  Many  of  them  deserve  our  pit}' 
rather  than  our  scorn;  for  they  suffered 
from  that  species  of  insanity  which,  ac- 
cording to  Holmes,  is  often  the  logic  of 
an  accurate  mind  overtasked.  At  any 
rate,  they  furnish  an  example  of  that 

"  Faith,  fanatic  faith,  which,  wedded  fast 
To  some  dear  falsehood,  hugs  it  to  the  last." 


CHAPTER   III. 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic. 

Henry  Cornelius  Agrippa — Joseph  Francis  Borri 
— Urban  Grandier— Dr.  Dee — Edward  Kelly 
— John  Darnell. 

SUPERSTITION  is  a  deformed 
monster  who  dies  hard  ;  and  Hke 
Loki  of  the  Sagas  when  the 
snake  dropped  poison  on  his 
forehead,  his  writhings  shook  the  world 
and  caused  earthquakes.  Now  its  power 
is  well-nigh  dead.  "  Superstition  !  that 
horrible  incubus  which  dwelt  in  darkness, 
shunning  the  light,  with  all  its  racks  and 
poison-chalices,  and  foul  sleeping-draughts, 
is  passing  away  without  return."  *  But 
society  was  once  leavened  with  it. 
Alchemy,  astrology,  and  magic  were  a 
fashionable  cult,  and  so  long  as  its  pro- 
fessors pleased  their  patrons,  proclaimed 
"  smooth  things  and  prophesied  deceits," 
all  went  well  with   them ;   but   it   is   an 

*  Carlyle. 
60 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.    6i 

easy  thing  to  offend  fickle-minded  folk, 
and  when  the  philosopher's  stone  and 
the  secret  of  perpetual  youth  after  much 
research  were  not  producible,  the  cry  of 
**  impostor  "  was  readily  raised,  and  the 
trade  of  magic  had  its  uncertainties,  as 
well  as  its  charms. 

Our  first  author  who  suffered  as  an 
astrologer,  though  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  he  was  ever  guilty  of  the  charges 
brought  against  him,  was  Henry  Cornelius 
Agrippa,  who  was  born  at  Cologne  in 
i486,  a  man  of  noble  birth  and  learned 
in  Medicine,  Law,  and  Theology.  His 
supposed  devotion  to  necromancy  and 
his  adventurous  career  have  made  his 
story  a  favourite  one  for  romance-writers. 
We  find  him  in  early  life  fighting  in  the 
Italian  war  under  the  Emperor  Maximilian, 
whose  private  secretary  he  was.  The 
honour  of  knighthood  conferred  upon 
him  did  not  satisfy  his  ambition,  and  he 
betook  himself  to  the  fields  of  learning. 
At  the  request  of  Margaret  of  Austria,  he 
wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Excellence  of 
Wisdom,  which  he  had  not  the  courage 
to  publish,  fearing  to  arouse  the  hostility 
of  the  theologians  of  the  day,  as  his  views 
were  strongly  opposed  to  the  scholasticism 
of  the  monks.  He  lived  the  roving  life 
of  a  mediaeval  scholar,   now  in    London 


62     Books  Fatal  to  their  Autliors. 

illustrating  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  now 
at  Cologne  or  Pavia  or  Turin  lecturing  on 
Divinity,  and  at  another  time  at  Metz, 
where  he  resided  some  time  and  took 
part  in  the  government  of  the  city. 
There,  in  15  21,  he  was  bereaved  of  his 
beautiful  and  noble  wife.  There  too  we 
read  of  his  charitable  act  of  saving  from 
death  a  poor  woman  who  was  accused  of 
witchcraft.  Then  he  became  involved  in 
controversy,  combating  the  idea  that  St. 
Anne,  the  mother  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
had  three  husbands,  and  in  consequence 
of  the  hostility  raised  by  his  opinions  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  the  city.  The 
people  used  to  avoid  him,  as  if  he  carried 
about  with  him  some  dread  infection,  and 
fled  from  him  whenever  he  appeared  in 
the  streets.  At  length  we  see  him  esta- 
blished at  Lyons  as  physician  to  the 
Queen  Mother,  the  Princess  Louise  of 
Savoy,  and  enjoying  a  pension  from 
Francis  I.  This  lady  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  superstitious  turn  of  mind,  and  re- 
quested the  learned  Agrippa,  whose  fame 
for  astrology  had  doubtless  reached  her, 
to  consult  the  stars  concerning  the 
destinies  of  France.  This  Agrippa  refused, 
and  complained  of  being  employed  in 
such  follies.  His  refusal  aroused  the  ire 
of  the  Queen  ;  her  courtiers  eagerly  took 


Astrology,  Alcliciny,  and  Magic.    63 

up  the  cry,  and  "  conjurer,"  "  necro- 
mancer," etc.,  .were  the  complimentary 
terms  which  were  freely  applied  to  the 
former  favourite.  Agrippa  fled  to  the 
court  of  Margaret  of  Austria,  the  governor 
of  the  Netherlands  under  Charles  V.,  and 
was  appointed  the  Emperor's  historio- 
grapher. He  wrote  a  history  of  the  reign 
of  that  monarch,  and  during  the  life  of 
Margaret  he  continued  his  prosperous 
career,  and  at  her  death  he  delivered  an 
eloquent  funeral  oration. 

But  troubles  were  in  store  for  the  illus- 
trious author.  In  1530  he  published  a 
work,  De  Ince7'titndine  et  Vanitate  Scien- 
tiarum  et  Artium,  atque  Excellentid  Verbi 
Dei  Declamatio  (Antwerp).  His  severe 
satire  upon  scholasticism  and  its  professors 
roused  the  anger  of  those  whom  with 
scathing  words  he  castigated.  The  Pro- 
fessors of  the  University  of  Louvain 
declared  that  they  detected  forty-three 
errors  in  the  book ;  and  Agrippa  was 
forced  to  defend  himself  against  their 
attacks  in  a  little  book  published  at 
Leyden,  entitled  Apologia  pro  defencione 
Declatnationis  de  Vanitate  Scientiarum 
contra  Tkeoiogistes Lovanienses.  In  spite  of 
such  powerful  friends  as  the  Papal  Legate, 
Cardinal  Campeggio,  and  Cardinal  de  la 
Marck,  Prince  Bishop  of  Liege,  Agrippa 


64     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

was  vilified  by  his  opponents,  and  im- 
prisoned at  Brussels  in  1531.  The  fury 
against  his  book  continued  to  rage,  and 
its  author  declares  in  his  Epistles  :  "  When 
I  brought  out  my  book  for  the  purpose 
of  exciting  sluggish  minds  to  the  study  of 
sound  learning,  and  to  provide  some  new 
arguments  for  these  monks  to  discuss  in 
their  assemblies,  they  repaid  this  kindness 
by  rousing  common  hostility  against  me ; 
and  now  by  suggestions,  from  their  pulpits, 
in  public  meetings,  before  mixed  multi- 
tudes, with  great  clamourings  they  declaim 
against  me  ;  they  rage  with  passion,  and 
there  is  no  impiety,  no  heresy,  no  disgrace 
which  they  do  not  charge  me  with,  with 
wonderful  gesticulations — namely,  with 
clapping  of  fingers,  with  hands  out- 
stretched and  then  suddenly  drawn  back, 
with  gnashing  of  teeth,  by  raging,  by 
spitting,  by  scratching  their  heads,  by 
gnawing  their  nails,  by  stamping  with 
their  feet,  they  rage  like  madmen,  and 
omit  no  kind  of  lunatic  behaviour  by 
means  of  which  they  may  arouse  the 
hatred  and  anger  of  both  prince  and 
people  against  me." 

The  book  was  examined  by  the  Inquisi- 
tion and  placed  by  the  Council  of  Trent 
on  the  list  of  prohibited  works,  amongst 
the    heretical    books   of    the    first   class. 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.   65 

Erasmus,  however,  spoke  very  highly  of 
it,  and  declared  it  to  be  "  the  work  of  a 
man  of  sparkling  intellect,  of  varied  read- 
ing and  good  memory,  who  always  blames 
bad  things,  and  praises  the  good."  Schel- 
horn  declares  that  the  book  is  remark- 
able for  the  brilliant  learning  displayed 
in  it,  and  for  the  very  weighty  testimony 
which  it  bears  against  the  errors  and  faults 
of  the  time. 

Our  author  was  released  from  his  prison 
at  Brussels,  and  wrote  another  book, 
De  occulta  Philosophia  (3  vols.,  Antwerp, 
1533),  which  enabled  his  enemies  to  bring 
against  him  the  charge  of  magic.  Stories 
were  told  of  the  money  which  Agrippa 
paid  at  inns  turning  into  pieces  of  horn 
and  shell,  and  of  the  mysterious  dog 
which  ate  and  slept  with  him,  which  was 
indeed  a  demon  in  disguise  and  vanished 
at  his  death.  They  declared  he  had  a 
wonderful  wand,  and  a  mirror  which  re- 
flected the  images  of  persons  absent  or 
dead. 

The  reputed  wizard  at  length  returned 
to  France,  where  he  was  imprisoned  on 
a  charge  of  speaking  evil  of  the  Queen 
Mother,  who  had  evidently  not  forgotten 
his  refusal  to  consult  the  stars  for  her 
benefit.  He  was,  however,  soon  released, 
and  after  his  strange  wandering  life  our 

5 


66     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

author  ended  his  labours  in  a  hospital  at 
Grenoble,  where  he  died  in  1535.  In 
addition  to  the  works  we  have  mentioned, 
he  wrote  De  Nobilitate  et  Prcecellentia 
Fcejninei  Sexus  (Antwerp,  1529),  in  order 
to  flatter  his  patroness  Margaret  of  Austria, 
and  an  early  work,  De  Trip/id  Ratione 
Cognosce7idi  Deum  (15 15).  The  monkish 
epigram,  unjust  though  it  be,  is  perhaps 
worth  recording : — 

"  Among  the  gods  there  is  Momus  who 
reviles  all  men  ;  among  the  heroes  there 
is  Hercules  who  slays  monsters  ;  among 
the  demons  there  is  Pluto,  the  king  of 
Erebus,  who  is  in  a  rage  with  all  the 
shades ;  among  the  philosophers  there  is 
Democritus  who  laughs  at  all  things, 
Heraclitus  who  bewails  all  things,  Pyrrhon 
who  is  ignorant  of  all  things,  Aristotle 
who  thinks  that  he  knows  all  things, 
Diogenes  who  despises  all  things.  But 
this  Agrippa  spares  none,  despises  all 
things,  knows  all  things,  is  ignorant  of 
all  things,  bewails  all  things,  laughs  at  all 
things,  rages  against  all  things,  reviles 
all  things,  being  himself  a  philosopher,  a 
demon,  a  hero,  a  god,  everything." 

The  impostor  Joseph  Francis  Borri 
was  a  very  different  character.  He  was 
a  famous  chemist  and  charlatan,  born  at 
Milan    in    1627,   and    educated    by   the 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.    6"/ 

Jesuits  at  Rome,  being  a  student  of 
medicine  and  chemistry.  He  lived  a 
wild  and  depraved  life,  and  was  compelled 
to  retire  into  a  seminary.  Then  he  sud- 
denly changed  his  conduct,  and  pretended 
to  be  inspired  by  God,  advocating  in  a 
book  which  he  published  certain  strange 
notions  with  regard  to  the  existence  of 
the  Trinity,  and  expressing  certain  ridi- 
culous opinions,  such  as  that  the  mother 
of  God  was  a  certain  goddess,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  became  incarnate  in  the 
womb  of  Anna,  and  that  not  only  Christ 
but  the  Virgin  also  are  adored  and  con- 
tained in  the  Holy  Eucharist.  In  spite 
of  the  folly  of  his  teaching  he  attracted 
many  followers,  and  also  the  attention  of 
the  Inquisition.  Perceiving  his  danger, 
he  fled  to  Milan,  and  thence  to  a  more 
safe  retreat  in  Amsterdam  and  Hamburg. 
In  his  absence  the  Inquisition  examined 
his  book  and  passed  its  dread  sentence 
upon  its  author,  declaring  that  "  Borri 
ought  to  be  punished  as  a  heretic  for  his 
errors,  that  he  had  incurred  both  the 
'  general '  and  '  particular  '  censures,  that 
he  was  deprived  of  all  honour  and  pre- 
rogative in  the  Church,  of  whose  mercy 
he  had  proved  himself  unworthy,  that  he 
was  expelled  from  her  communion,  and 
that  his  effigy  should  be  handed  over  to 


68     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the  Cardinal  Legate  for  the  execution  of 
the  punishment  he  had  deserved."  All 
his  heretical  writings  were  condemned  to 
the  flames,  and  all  his  goods  confiscated. 
On  the  3rd  of  January,  1661,  Borri's 
effigy  and  his  books  were  burned  by  the 
public  executioner,  and  Borri  declared  that 
he  never  felt  so  cold,  when  he  knew  that 
he  was  being  burned  by  proxy.  He  then 
fled  to  a  more  secure  asylum  in  Denmark. 
He  imposed  upon  Frederick  HI.,  saying 
that  he  had  found  the  philosopher's 
stone.  After  the  death  of  this  credulous 
monarch  Borri  journeyed  to  Vienna,  where 
he  was  delivered  up  to  the  representative 
of  the  Pope,  and  cast  into  prison.  He 
was  then  sent  to  Rome,  and  condemned 
to  perpetual  imprisonment  in  the  Castle 
of  St.  Angelo,  where  he  died  in  1685. 
His  principal  work  was  entitled  La  Chiave 
del  gabhietto  del  cavagliere  G.  F.  Borri 
(The  key  of  the  cabinet  of  Borri).  Cer- 
tainly the  Church  showed  him.  no  mercy, 
but  perhaps  his  hard  fate  was  not  entirely 
undeserved. 

The  tragic  death  of  Urban  Grandier 
shows  how  dangerous  it  was  in  the  days 
of  superstition  to  incur  the  displeasure  of 
powerful  men,  and  how  easily  the  charge 
of  necromancy  could  be  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  "  removing  "  an  obnoxious  person. 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.  69 

Grandier  was  cure  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Peter  at  Loudun  and  canon  of  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Cross.  He  was  a  pleasant 
companion,  agreeable  in  conversation, 
and  much  admired  by  the  fair  sex.  In- 
deed he  wrote  a  book,  Contra  Ccelibatum 
ClericoruJH,  in  which  he  strongly  advocated 
the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  and  showed 
that  he  was  not  himself  indifferent  to  the 
charms  of  the  ladies.  In  an  evil  hour  he 
wrote  a  little  book  entitled  La  cordon- 
niere  de  Loudun,  in  which  he  attacked 
Richelieu,  and  aroused  the  undying  hatred 
of  the  great  Cardinal.  Richelieu  was  at 
that  time  in  the  zenith  of  his  power,  and 
when  offended  he  was  not  very  scrupu- 
lous as  to  the  means  he  employed  to  carry 
out  his  vengeance,  as  the  fate  of  our 
author  abundantly  testifies. 

In  the  town  of  Loudun  was  a  famous 
convent  of  Ursuline  nuns,  and  Grandier 
solicited  the  office  of  director  of  the 
nunnery,  but  happily  he  was  prevented 
by  circumstances  from  undertaking  that 
duty.  A  short  time  afterwards  the  nuns 
were  attacked  with  a  curious  and  con- 
tagious frenzy,  imagining  themselves 
tormented  by  evil  spirits,  of  whom  the 
chief  was  Asmodeus.*      They  pretended 

■^  This  was  the  demon  mentioned  in  Tobit  iii. 
8,  17,  who  attacked  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Raguel, 


70     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

that  they  were  possessed  by  the  demon, 
and  accused  the  unhappy  Grandier  of 
casting  the  spells  of  witchcraft  upon  them. 
He  indignantly  refuted  the  calumny,  and 
appealed  to  the  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux, 
Charles  de  Sourdis.  This  wise  prelate 
succeeded  in  calming  the  troubled  minds 
of  the  nuns,  and  settled  the  afifair. 

In  the  meantime  the  vengeful  eye  of 
Richelieu  was  watching  for  an  oppor- 
tunity. He  sent  his  emissary,  Councillor 
Laubardemont,  to  Loudun,  who  renewed 
the  accusation  against  Grandier.  The 
amiable  cleric,  who  had  led  a  pious  and 
regular  life,  was  declared  guilty  of  adultery, 
sacrilege,  magic,  witchcraft,  demoniacal 
possession,  and  condemned  to  be  burned 
alive  after  receiving  an  application  of  the 
torture.  In  the  market-place  of  Loudun 
in  1643  this  terrible  sentence  was  carried 
into  execution,  and  together  with  his 
book,  Contra  Cc^libatum  Clericorum,  poor 
Grandier  was  committed  to  the  flames. 
When  he  ascended  his  funeral  pile,  a  fly 
was  observed  to  buzz  around  his  head. 
A  monk  who  was  standing  near  declared 
that,  as  Beelzebub  was  the  god  of  flies, 

and  killed  her  seven  husbands.  Rabbinical 
writers  consider  him  as  the  chief  of  evil  spirits, 
and  recount  his  marvellous  deeds.  He  is  re- 
garded as  the  fire  of  impure  love. 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic,    yi 

the  devil  was  .present  with  Grandier  in  his 
dying  hour  and  wished  to  bear  away  his 
soul  to  the  infernal  regions.  An  account 
of  this  strange  and  tragic  history  was 
published  by  Aubin  in  his  Histoire  des 
diables  de  Loudim,  oit  cruels  effets  de  la 
vengeance  de  Richelieu  (Amsterdam,  1693). 
Our  own  country  has  produced  a  noted 
alchemist  and  astrologer,  Dr.  Dee,  whose 
fame  extended  to  many  lands.  He  was 
a  very  learned  man  and  prolific  writer, 
and  obtained  the  office  of  warden  of  the 
collegiate  church  of  Manchester  through 
the  favour  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  was 
a  firm  believer  in  his  astrological  powers. 
His  age  was  the  age  of  witchcraft,  and  in 
no  county  was  the  belief  in  the  magic 
power  of  the  "  evil  eye  "  more  prevalent 
than  in  Lancashire.  Dr.  Dee,  however, 
disclaimed  all  dealings  with  "  the  black 
art "  in  his  petition  to  the  great  "  Solomon 
of  the  North,"  James  I.,  which  was  couched 
in  these  words  :  "  It  has  been  affirmed  that 
your  majesty's  suppliant  was  the  conjurer 
belonging  to  the  most  honourable  privy 
council  of  your  majesty's  predecessor,  of 
famous  memory.  Queen  Elizabeth ;  and 
that  he  is,  or  hath  been,  a  caller  or  invocater 
of  devils,  or  damned  spirits  ;  these  slanders, 
which  have  tended  to  his  utter  undoing, 
can   no   longer  be   endured ;    and  if  on 


72     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

trial  he  is  found  guilty  of  the  offence 
imputed  to  him,  he  offers  himself  willingly 
to  the  punishment  of  death  ;  yea,  either 
to  be  stoned  to  death,  or  to  be  buried 
quick,  or  to  be  burned  unmercifully."  In 
spite  of  his  assertions  to  the  contrary,  the 
learned  doctor  must  have  had  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  "  the  black  art,"  and 
was  the  companion  and  friend  of  Edward 
Kelly,  a  notorious  necromancer,  who  for 
his  follies  had  his  ears  cut  off  at 
Lancaster.  This  Kelly  used  to  exhume 
and  consult  the  dead  ;  in  the  darkness 
of  night  he  and  his  companions  entered 
churchyards,  dug  up  the  bodies  of  men 
recently  buried,  and  caused  them  to  utter 
predictions  concerning  the  fate  of  the 
living.  Dr.  Dee's  friendship  with  Kelly 
was  certainly  suspicious.  On  the  corona- 
tion of  Queen  Elizabeth,  he  foretold  the 
future  by  consulting  the  stars.  When  a 
waxen  image  of  the  queen  was  found  in 
Lincoln's-Inn-Fields,  which  was  a  sure 
sign  that  some  one  was  endeavouring  to 
cast  spells  upon  her  majesty.  Dr.  Dee 
pretended  that  he  was  able  to  defeat  the 
designs  of  such  evil-disposed  persons,  and 
prevent  his  royal  mistress  feeling  any  of 
the  pains  which  might  be  inflicted  on  her 
effigy.  In  addition  his  books,  of  which 
there   were   many,   witness   against   him. 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.    73 

These  were  eollected  by  Casaubon,  who 
published  in  London  in  1659  a  resume  of 
the  learned  doctor's  works. 

Manchester  was  made  too  hot,  even  for 
the  alchemist,  through  the  opposition  of 
his  clerical  brethren,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  resign  his  office  of  warden  of  the  college. 
Then,  accompanied  by  Kelly,  he  wandered 
abroad,  and  was  received  as  an  honoured 
guest  at  the  courts  of  many  sovereigns. 
The  Emperor  Rodolphe,  Stephen,  King 
of  Poland,  and  other  royal  personages 
welcomed  the  renowned  astrologers,  who 
could  read  the  stars,  had  discovered  the 
elixir  of  life,  which  rendered  men  immortal, 
the  philosopher's  stone  in  the  form  of  a 
powder  which  changed  the  bottom  of  a 
warming-pan  into  pure  silver,  simply  by 
warming  it  at  the  fire,  and  made  the 
precious  metals  so  plentiful  that  children 
played  at  quoits  with  golden  rings.  No 
wonder  they  were  so  welcome  !  They 
were  acquainted  with  the  Rosicrucian 
philosophy,  could  hold  correspondence 
with  the  spirits  of  the  elements,  imprison 
a  spirit  in  a  mirror,  ring,  or  stone,  and 
compel  it  to  answer  questions.  Dr.  Dee's 
mirror,  which  worked  such  wonders,  and 
was  found  in  his  study  at  his  death  in 
1 608,  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  In 
spite  of  all  these  marvels,  the  favour  which 


74     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the  great  man  for  a  time  enjoyed  was 
fleet  and  transient.  He  fell  into  poverty 
and  died  in  great  misery,  his  downfall 
being  brought  about  partly  by  his  works 
but  mainly  by  his  practices. 

Associated  with  Lancashire  demonology 
is  the  name  of  John  Darrell,  a  cleric, 
afterwards  preacher  at  St.  Mary's,  Notting- 
ham, who  published  a  narrative  of  the 
strange  and  grievous  vexation  of  the  devil 
of  seven  persons  in  Lancashire.  This 
remarkable  case  occurred  at  Clayworth  in 
the  parish  of  Leigh,  in  the  family  of  one 
Nicholas  Starkie,  whose  house  was  turned 
into  a  perfect  bedlam.  It  is  vain  to  follow 
the  account  of  the  vagaries  of  the  possessed, 
the  howlings  and  barkings,  the  scratchings 
of  holes  for  the  familiars  to  get  to  them, 
the  charms  and  magic  circles  of  the  im- 
postor and  exorcist  Hartley,  and  the 
godly  ministrations  of  the  accomplished 
author,  who  with  two  other  preachers 
overcame  the  evil  spirits. 

Unfortunately  for  him,  Harsnett,  Bishop 
of  Chichester,  and  afterwards  Archbishop 
of  York,  doubted  the  marvellous  powers 
of  the  pious  author,  Dr.  Darrell,  and  had 
the  audacity  to  suggest  that  he  made  a 
trade  of  casting  out  devils,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  declare  that  Darrell  and  the 
possessed   had   arranged  the   matter  be- 


Astrology,  Alchemy,  and  Magic.  75 

tween  them,  and  that  Darrell  had  instructed 
them  how  they  were  to  act  in  order  to 
appear  possessed.  The  author  was  subse- 
quently condemned  as  an  impostor  by  the 
Queen's  commissioners,  deposed  from  his 
ministry,  and  condemned  to  a  long  term 
of  imprisonment  with  further  punishment 
to  follow.  The  base  conduct  and  pre- 
tences of  Darrell  and  others  obliged  the 
clergy  to  enact  the  following  canon  (No. 
73) :  "  That  no  minister  or  ministers,  with- 
out license  and  direction  of  the  bishop, 
under  his  hand  and  seal  obtained,  attempt, 
upon  any  pretence  whatsoever,  either  of 
possession  or  obsession,  by  fasting  and 
prayer,  to  cast  out  any  devil  or  devils, 
under  pain  of  the  imputation  of  impos- 
ture, or  cozenage,  and  deposition  from 
the  ministry."  This  penalty  at  the  present 
day  not  many  of  the  clergy  are  in  danger 
of  incurring. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


Science  and  Philosophy. 

Bishop  Virgil— Roger  Bacon— Galileo— Jordano 
Bruno — Thomas  Campanella — De  Lisle  de 
Sales— Denis  Diderot  — Balthazar  Bekker — 
Isaac  de  la  Peyrere— Abbe  de  MaroUes— 
Lucilio  Vanini — Jean  Rousseau. 

[CIENCE  in  its  infancy  found 
many  powerful  opponents,  who, 
not  understanding  the  nature  of 
the  newly-born  babe,  strove  to 
strangle  it.  But  the  infant  grew  into  a 
healthy  child  in  spite  of  its  cruel  step- 
mother, and  cried  so  loudly  and  talked  so 
strangely  that  the  world  was  forced  to 
listen  to  its  utterances.  These  were  re- 
garded with  distrust  and  aversion  by  the 
theologians  of  the  day,  for  they  were 
supposed  to  be  in  opposition  to  Revela- 
tion, and  contrary  to  the  received  opinions 
of  all  learned  and  pious  people.  There- 
fore Science  met  with  very  severe 
treatment ;  its  followers  were  persecuted 
with  relentless  vehemence,  and  "  blas- 
76 


Science  and  Philosophy.  yj 

phemous  fables  "  and  "  dangerous  deceits  " 
were  the  only  epithets  which  could 
characterise  its  doctrines. 

The  controversy  between  Religion  and 
Science  still  rages,  in  spite  of  the 
declaration  of  Professor  Huxley  that  in 
his  opinion  the  conflict  between  the  two 
is  entirely  factitious.  But  theologians  are 
wiser  now  than  they  were  in  the  days 
of  Galileo ;  they  are  waiting  to  see  what 
the  scientists  can  prove,  and  then,  when 
the  various  hypotheses  are  shown  to  be 
true,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  reconcile 
the  verities  of  the  Faith  with  the  facts  of 
Science. 

To  those  who  believed  that  the  earth 
was  flat  it  was  somewhat  startling  to  be 
told  that  there  were  antipodes.  This 
elementary  truth  of  cosmology  Bishop 
Virgil  of  Salzbourg  was  courageous  enough 
to  assert  as  early  as  a.d.  764.  He  wrote 
a  book  in  which  he  stated  that  men  of 
another  race,  not  sprung  from  Adam, 
lived  in  the  world  beneath  our  feet. 
This  work  aroused  the  anger  of  Pope 
Zacharias  II.,  who  wrote  to  the  King  of 
Bavaria  that  Virgil  should  be  expelled 
from  the  temple  of  God  and  the  Church, 
and  deprived  of  his  office,  unless  he  con- 
fessed his  perverse  errors.  In  spite  of  the 
censure  and  sentence  of  excommunication 


78     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

pronounced  upon  him,  Bishop  Virgil  was 
canonised  by  Pope  Gregory  XL ;  thus,  in 
spite  of  his  misfortunes  brought  about 
by  his  book,  his  memory  was  revered 
and  honoured  by  the  Western  Church. 

If  the  account  of  his  imprisonment  be 
true  (of  which  there  is  no  contemporary 
evidence)  our  own  celebrated  English 
philosopher,  Roger  Bacon,  is  one  of  the 
earliest  scientific  authors  whose  works 
proved  fatal  to  them.  In  1267  he  sent 
his  book,  Opus  Majus,  together  with  his 
Opus  Minus,  an  abridgement  of  his  former 
work,  to  Pope  Clement  IV.  After  the 
death  of  that  Pope  Bacon  was  cited  by 
the  General  of  the  Franciscan  order,  to 
which  he  belonged,  to  appear  before  his 
judges  at  Paris,  where  he  was  condemned 
to  imprisonment.  He  is  said  to  have 
languished  in  the  dungeon  fourteen  years, 
and,  worn  out  by  his  sufferings,  to  have 
died  in  his  beloved  Oxford  during  the 
year  of  his  release,  1292.  The  charge  of 
magic  was  freely  brought  against  him. 
His  great  work,  which  has  been  termed 
"  the  Encyclopedia  and  the  Novum 
Organu/n  of  the  thirteenth  century," 
discloses  an  unfettered  mind  and  judg- 
ment far  in  advance  of  the  spirit  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived.  In  addition  to 
this  he  wrote   Compendium   Fhilosophice, 


Science  and  Philosophy.  79 

De  mirabili  Potestate  artls  et  7iatura, 
Specula  mathematical  Speculum  akhemicum, 
and  other  \vo):ks. 

The  treatment  which  Galileo  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  ecclesiastics  of  his 
day  is  well  known.  This  father  of  experi- 
mental philosophy  was  born  at  Pisa  in 
1564,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years, 
through  the  favour  of  the  Medicis,  was 
elected  Professor  of  Mathematics  at  the 
University  of  the  same  town.  Resigning 
his  chair  in  1592,  he  became  professor  at 
Padua,  and  then  at  Florence.  He  startled 
the  world  by  the  publication  of  his  first 
book,  Sidereus  Nuntius,  in  which  he 
disclosed  his  important  astronomical  dis- 
coveries, amongst  others  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter  and  the  spots  on  the  sun.  This 
directed  the  attention  of  the  Inquisition 
to  his  labours,  but  in  1632  he  published 
his  immortal  work  Dialogo  sopra  i  due 
Massimi  Sistemi  del  mondo,  Tolemaico  et 
Copernicano  (Florence),  which  was  the 
cause  of  his  undoing.  In  this  book  he 
defended  the  opinion  of  Copernicus 
concerning  the  motion  of  the  earth  round 
the  sun,  which  was  supposed  by  the 
theologians  of  the  day  to  be  an  opinion 
opposed  to  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture 
and  subversive  of  all  truth.  The  work 
was   brought    before    the    Inquisition   at 


8o     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Rome,  and  condemned  by  the  order  of 
Pope  Urban  VIII.  Galileo  was  com- 
manded to  renounce  his  theory,  but  this 
he  refused  to  do,  and  was  cast  into  prison. 
"  Are  these  then  my  judges  ?  "  he  exclaimed 
when  he  was  returning  from  the  presence 
of  the  Inquisitors,  whose  ignorance  as- 
tonished him.  There  he  remained  for 
five  long  years  ;  until  at  length,  wearied 
by  his  confinement,  the  squalor  of  the 
prison,  and  by  his  increasing  years,  he 
consented  to  recant  his  "  heresy,"  and 
regained  his  liberty.  The  old  man  lost 
his  sight  at  seventy-four  years  of  age, 
and  died  four  years  later  in  1642.  In 
addition  to  the  work  which  caused  him 
so  great  misfortunes  he  published  Discorso 
e  Demonstr.  i^iterno  alle  due  nuove  Scienze 
(1638),  Delia  Scienza  Meccanica  (1649), 
Tractato  della  Sfera  (1655);  and  the  tele- 
scope, the  isochronism  of  the  vibrations  of 
the  pendulum,  the  hydrostatic  balance,  the 
thermometer,  were  all  invented  by  this 
great  leader  of  astronomical  and  scientific 
discoverers.  Many  other  discoveries  might 
have  been  added  to  these,  had  not  his 
widow  submitted  the  sage's  MSS.  to  her 
confessor,  who  ruthlessly  destroyed  all 
that  he  considered  unfit  for  publication. 
Possibly  he  was  not  the  best  judge  of 
such  matters  ! 


Science  and  Philosophy.  8i 

Italy  also  produced  another  unhappy 
philosophic  writer,  Jordano  Bruno,  who 
lived  about  the  same  time  as  Galileo,  and 
was  born  at  Nole  in  1550,  being  fourteen 
years  his  senior.  At  an  early  age  he 
acquired  a  great  love  of  study  and  a 
thirst  for  knowledge.  The  Renaissance 
and  the  revival  of  learning  had  opened 
wide  the  gates  of  knowledge,  and  there 
were  many  eager  faces  crowding  around 
the  doors,  many  longing  to  enter  the  fair 
Paradise  and  explore  the  far-extending 
vistas  which  met  their  gaze.  It  was  an 
age  of  anxious  and  eager  inquiry ;  the 
torpor  of  the  last  centuries  had  passed 
away  ;  and  a  new  world  of  discovery,  with 
spring-like  freshness,  dawned  upon  the 
sight.  Jordano  Bruno  was  one  of  these 
zealous  students  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
We  see  him  first  in  a  Dominican  convent, 
but  the  old-world  scholasticism  had  no 
charms  for  him.  The  narrow  groove  of 
*^he  cloister  was  irksome  to  his  freedom- 
loving  soul.  He  cast  off  his  monkish 
garb,  and  wandered  through  Europe  as 
a  knight-errant  of  philosophy,  multu?7i  ilk 
et  terris  jactatus  et  alto,  teaching  letters. 
In  1580  we  find  him  at  Geneva  conferring 
with  Calvin  and  Beza,  but  Calvinism  did 
not  commend  itself  to  his  philosophic 
mind.      Thence  he  journeyed   to    Paris, 

6 


82     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

where  in  1582  he  produced  one  of  his 
more  important  works,  De  wnbris 
idearwn.  Soon  afterwards  he  came  to 
London,  where  he  became  the  intimate 
friend  of  Sir  PhiHp  Sidney.  Here  he 
wrote  the  work  which  proved  fatal  to  him, 
entitled  Spaccio  della  bestia  triomphante 
(The  expulsion  of  the  triumphing  beast) 
(London,  1584).*  This  was  an  allegory 
in  which  he  combated  superstition  and 
satirised  the  errors  of  Rome.  But  in 
this  work  Bruno  fell  into  grievous  errors 
and  dangerous  atheistic  deceits.  He 
scoffed  at  the  worship  of  God,  declared 
that  the  books  of  the  sacred  canon  were 
merely  dreams,  that  Moses  worked  his 
wonders  by  magical  art,  and  blasphemed 
the  Saviour.  Bruno  furnished  another 
example  of  those  whose  faith,  having  been 
at  one  time  forced  to  accept  dogmas 
bred  of  superstition,  has  been  weakened 
and  altogether  destroyed  when  they  have 
perceived  the  falseness  and  fallibility  of 
that  which  before  they  deemed  infallible. 

But  in  spite  of  these  errors  Bruno's 
learning   was   remarkable.       He   had   an 

*  The  full  title  of  the  work  is  :  Spaccio  clella 
besiia  iriuinphante  da  giove,  effetuato  dal  conscglo, 
revelato  da  Mcrcitrio,  recitato  da  sofia,  iidtto  da 
Saldino,  regisirato  dal  nolano,  diviso  in  ire  dialogi, 
subdivisiin  tre parti.     In  Parigi,  1584,  in-'6. 


Science  and  Philosophy.  83 

extensive  knowledge  of  all  sciences.  From 
England  he  went  to  Germany,  and  lectured 
at  Wittenberg,  Prague,  and  Frankfort. 
His  philosophy  resembled  that  of  Spinosa. 
He  taught  that  God  is  the  substance  and 
life  of  all  things,  and  that  the  universe  is 
an  immense  animal,  of  which  God  is  the 
soul. 

At  length  he  had  the  imprudence  to 
return  to  Italy,  and  became  a  teacher  at 
Padua.  At  Venice  he  was  arrested  by 
order  of  the  Inquisition  in  1595,  and  con- 
ducted to  Rome,  where,  after  an  imprison- 
ment of  two  years,  in  order  that  he  might 
be  punished  as  gently  as  possible  without 
the  shedding  of  blood,  he  was  sentenced 
to  be  burned  alive.  With  a  courage 
worthy  of  a  philosopher,  he  exclaimed  to 
his  merciless  judges,  "  You  pronounce 
sentence  upon  me  with  greater  fear  than 
I  receive  it."  Bruno's  other  great  works 
were  Delia  causa,  principio  e  nno  (1584), 
De  infinito  iiniverso  et  mundis  (1584),  De 
monade  nicmero  et figura  (Francfort,  159 1). 

The  Inquisition  at  Rome  at  this  period 
was  particularly  active  in  its  endeavours 
to  reform  errant  philosophers,  and  Bruno 
was  by  no  means  the  only  victim  who  felt 
its  power.  Thomas  Campanella,  born  in 
Calabria,  in  Italy,  a.d.  1568,  conceived 
the  design  of  reforming  philosophy  about 


84     Books  Fatal  to  their  AuiJiors. 

the  same  time  as  our  more  celebrated 
Bacon.  This  was  a  task  too  great  for  his 
strength,  nor  did  he  receive  much  en- 
couragement from  the  existing  powers. 
He  attacked  scholasticism  with  much 
vigour,  and  censured  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle,  the  admired  of  the  schoolmen. 
He  wrote  a  work  entitled  Philosophia 
sensilms  demonstrata,  in  which  he  defended 
the  ideas  of  Telesio,  who  explained  the 
laws  of  nature  as  founded  upon  two 
principles,  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  the 
coldness  of  the  earth.  He  declared  that 
all  our  knowledge  was  derived  from  sensa- 
tion, and  that  all  parts  of  the  earth  were 
endowed  with  feeling.  Campanella  also 
wrote  Prodromiis  philosophies  instaurandce 
(1617);  Philosophia  rationalis,  embracing 
grammar,  dialectics,  rhetoric,  poetry,  and 
history ;  Universalis  Philosophatus,  a 
treatise  on  metaphysics  ;  Civitas  soils,  a 
description  of  a  kind  of  Utopia,  after  the 
fashion  of  Plato's  Republic.  But  the  fatal 
book  which  caused  his  woes  was  his 
Atheismiis  triumphatus.  On  account  of  this 
work  he  was  cast  into  prison,  and  endured 
so  much  misery  that  we  can  scarcely  bear 
to  think  of  his  tortures  and  sufferings. 
For  twenty-five  years  he  endured  all  the 
squalor  and  horrors  of  a  mediceval  dun- 
geon ;   through   thirty-five  hours  he  was 


Science  and  Philosophy.  85 

"  questioned  "  with  such  exceeding  cruelty 
that  all  his  veins  and  arteries  were  so 
drawn  and  jjtretched  by  the  rack  that  the 
blood  could  not  flow.  Yet  he  bore  all 
this  terrible  agony  with  a  brave  spirit,  and 
did  not  utter  a  cry.  Various  causes  have 
been  assigned  for  the  severity  of  this 
torture  inflicted  on  poor  Campanella. 
Some  attribute  it  to  the  malice  of  the 
scholastic  philosophers,  whom  he  had 
offended  by  his  works.  Others  say  that 
he  was  engaged  in  some  treasonable  con- 
spiracy to  betray  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
to  the  Spaniards ;  but  it  is  probable  that 
his  Atheismus  triumphatus  was  the  chief 
cause  of  his  woes.  Sorbiere  has  thus 
passed  judgment  upon  this  fatal  book : 
"Though  nothing  is  dearer  to  me  than 
time,  the  loss  of  which  grieves  me  sorely, 
I  confess  that  I  have  lost  both  oil  and 
labour  in  reading  the  empty  book  of  an 
empty  monk,  Thomas  Campanella.  It  is 
a  farrago  of  vanities,  has  no  order,  many 
obscurities,  and  perpetual  barbarisms. 
One  thing  I  have  learned  in  wandering 
through  this  book,  that  I  will  never  read 
another  book  of  this  author,  even  if  I 
could  spare  the  time." 

Authorities  differ  with  regard  to  the 
ultimate  fate  of  this  author.  Some  say 
that   he  was   killed    in   prison   in    1599; 


86     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

others  declare  that  he  was  released  and 
fled  to  France,  where  he  enjoyed  a  pension 
granted  to  him  by  Richelieu.  However, 
during  his  incarceration  he  continued  his 
studies,  and  wrote  a  work  concerning  the 
Spanish  monarchy  which  was  translated 
from  Italian  into  German  and  Latin.  In 
spite  of  his  learning  he  made  many 
enemies  by  his  arrogance  ;  and  his  restless 
and  ambitious  spirit  carried  him  into 
enterprises  which  were  outside  the  proper 
sphere  of  his  philosophy.  In  this  he 
followed  the  example  of  many  other  luck- 
less authors,  to  whom  the  advice  of  the 
homely  proverb  would  have  been  valuable 
which  states  that  "  a  shoemaker  should 
stick  to  his  last." 

The  book  entitled  De  la  Philosophic  de 
la  Nature,  ou  Traitc  de  morale  pour  I'espece 
huinaine,  tire  de  la  philosophie  et  fonde  sur 
la  nature  {Paris,  Saillant  et  Nyon,  1769,  6 
vols.,  in-12),  has  a  curious  history.  It  in- 
flicted punishment  not  only  on  its  author, 
De  Lisle  de  Sales,  but  also  on  two  learned 
censors  of  books  who  approved  its  con- 
tents, the  Abbe  Chretien  and  M.  Lebas, 
the  bookseller  Saillant,  and  two  of  its 
printers.  De  Lisle  was  sent  to  prison,  but 
the  severity  of  the  punishment  aroused 
popular  indignation,  and  his  journey  to 
gaol  resembled  a  triumph.    All  the  learned 


Science  and  Philosophy.  8/ 

men  of  Paris  visited  the  imprisoned  philo- 
sopher. All  the  sentences  were  reversed 
by  the  Parliament  of  Paris  in  1777.  This 
book  has  often  been  reproduced  and  trans- 
lated in  other  languages.  De  Lisle  was 
exposed  to  the  persecutions  of  the  Reign 
of  Terror,  and  another  work  of  his,  entitled 
Eponine,  caused  him  a  second  term  of 
imprisonment,  from  which  he  was  released 
when  the  terrible  reign  of  anarchy,  lasting 
eighteen  months,  ended. 

The  industrious  philosopher  Denis  Di- 
derot wrote  Lettres  sur  les  Aveiigles  a 
r usage  de  ceux  qui  voient  (1749,  in- 12). 
There  were  "  those  who  saw "  and  were 
not  bhnd  to  its  defects,  and  proceeded  to 
incarcerate  Diderot  in  the  Castle  of  Vin- 
cennes,  where  he  remained  six  months, 
and  where  he  perceived  that  this  little 
correction  was  necessary  to  cure  him  of 
his  philosophical  folly.  He  was  a  very 
prolific  writer,  and  subsequently  with 
D'Alembert  edited  the  first  French  En- 
cyclopaedia (1751 — 1772,  17  vols.).  This 
was  supposed  to  contain  statements 
antagonistic  to  the  Government  and  to 
Religion,  and  its  authors  and  booksellers 
and  their  assistants  were  all  sent  to  the 
Bastille.  Chambers'  Cyclopaedia  had 
existed  in  England  some  years  before  a 
similar  work   was   attempted   in    France, 


88     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

and  the  idea  was  first  started  by  an 
Englishman,  John  Mills.  This  man  was 
ingeniously  defrauded  of  the  work,  which 
owed  its  conception  and  execution  entirely 
to  him.  Perhaps  on  the  whole  he  might 
have  been  congratulated,  as  he  escaped 
the  Bastille,  to  which  the  appropriators  of 
his  work  were  consigned. 

An  author  who  dares  to  combat  the 
popular  superstitious  beliefs  current  in  his 
time  often  suffers  in  consequence  of  his 
courage,  as  Balthazar  Bekker  discovered 
to  his  cost.  This  writer  was  born  in  West 
Friezland  in  1634,  and  died  at  Amsterdam 
in  1698.  He  was  a  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Holland,  and  resided  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  at  Amsterdam, 
where  he  produced  his  earlier  work 
Recherches  sur  les  Cometes  (1683),  in  which 
he  combated  the  popular  belief  in  the 
malign  influence  of  comets.  This  work 
Avas  followed  a  few  years  later  by  his 
more  famous  book  De  Betovcrde  Weereld, 
or   The  Enchanted   World*  in  which  he 

*  Le  Monde  enchante,  ou  Examen  des  sentimens 
touchant  les  esprits,  tradnit  dti  flaniand  en 
Jmnfais  (Amsterdam,  1694,  4  vols.,  in- 1 2).  One 
Benjamin  Binet  wrote  a  refutation,  entitled 
Traite  historique  des  Dieux  et  des  Demons  dii 
paganisnte,  avec  des  rcmarques  sur  le  systeme  de 
Balthazar  Bekker  (Delft,  1696,  in-12). 


Science  and  Philosophy.  89 

refuted  the  vulgar  notions  with  regard  to 
demoniacal  possession.  This  work  created 
a  great  excitement  amongst  the  Hol- 
landers, and  in  two  months  no  less  than 
four  thousand  copies  were  sold.  But, 
unfortunately  for  the  author,  it  aroused 
the  indignation  of  the  theologians  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  who  condemned  it, 
deprived  Bekker  of  his  office,  and  expelled 
him  from  their  communion.  Bekker  died 
shortly  after  his  sentence  had  been  pro- 
nounced. A  great  variety  of  opinions 
have  been  expressed  concerning  this 
book.  Bekker  was  a  follower  of  Des- 
cartes, and  this  was  sufficient  to  condemn 
him  in  the  eyes  of  many  of  the  theologians 
of  the  day.  The  Jansenists  of  Port-Royal 
and  the  divines  of  the  old  National  Church 
of  Holland  were  vehement  opponents  of 
Cartesianism  ;  consequently  we  find  M.  S. 
de  Vries  of  Utrecht  declaring  that  this 
fatal  book  caused  more  evil  in  the  space 
of  two  months  than  all  the  priests  could 
prevent  in  twenty  years.  Another  writer 
states  that  it  is  an  illustrious  work,  and 
full  of  wisdom  and  learning.  When 
Bekker  was  deposed  from  his  office,  his 
adversaries  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck 
representing  the  devil  clad  in  a  priestly 
robe,  riding  on  an  ass,  and  carrying  a 
trophy  in  his  right  hand ;  which  was  in- 


90     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tended  to  signify  that  Bekker  had  been 
overcome  in  his  attempt  to  disprove 
demoniacal  possession,  and  that  the  devil 
had  conquered  in  the  assembly  of  divines 
who  pronounced  sentence  on  Bekker's 
book.  The  author  was  supposed  to  re- 
semble Satan  in  the  ugliness  of  his  appear- 
ance. Another  coin  was  struck  in  honour 
of  our  author  :  on  one  side  is  shown  the 
figure  of  Bekker  clad  in  his  priestly  robe  ; 
and  on  the  other  is  seen  Hercules  with 
his  club,  with  this  inscription.  Opus  virtutis 
veritatisque  triuinphat.  Bekker  also  wrote 
a  catechism,  entitled  La  Nourritiire  des 
Par/aits  (1670),  which  so  offended  the 
authorities  of  the  Reformed  Church  that 
its  use  was  publicly  prohibited  by  the 
sound  of  bells. 

The  science  of  ethnology  has  also  had 
its  victims,  and  one  Isaac  de  la  Peyrere 
suffered  for  its  sake.  His  fatal  book  was 
one  entitled  Prccadamitce,  sive  exercitatio 
super  versibiis  xii.,  xiii.,  xiv.,  capitis  v., 
epistoloi  divi  Pauli  ad  romanos,  Quibus 
indiiaintur  prinii  homines  a?tfe  Adajmnn 
conditi{i6^Ci,  in- 12),  in  which  he  advocated 
a  theory  that  the  earth  had  been  peopled 
by  a  race  which  existed  before  Adam. 
The  author  was  born  at  Bordeaux  in 
1592,  and  served  with  the  Prince  of 
Conde ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  protector,  he 


Science  and  Philosophy.  91 

was  imprisoned  at  Brussels,  and  his  book 
was  burnt  at  Paris,  in  1655.  This  work 
had  a  salutary  effect  on  the  indefatigable 
translator  Abbe  de  Marolles,  who  with 
extraordinary  energy,  but  with  little  skill, 
was  in  the  habit  of  translating  the  classical 
wofl-ks,  and  almost  anything  that  he  could 
lay  his  hands  upon.  He  published  no 
less  than  seventy  volumes,  and  at  last 
turned  his  attention  to  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, translating  them  with  notes.  In 
the  latter  he  inserted  extracts  and  reflec- 
tions from  the  above-mentioned  book  by 
Peyrere,  which  caused  a  sudden  cessation 
of  his  labours.  By  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  the  printing  of  his  works  was  sud- 
denly stopped,  but  probably  the  loss  which 
the  world  incurred  was  not  very  great. 
Peyrbre  seems  to  have  foretold  the  fate  of 
his  book  and  his  own  escape  in  the  follow- 
ing line  : — 

Parve,  ncc  invideo,  sine  me,  liber,  ibis  in  ignem. 

Lucilio  Vanini,  born  in  1585,  was  an 
Italian  philosopher,  learned  in  medicine, 
astronomy,  theology,  and  philosophy,  who, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  scholars  of  the 
age,  roamed  from  country  to  country,  like 
the  knight-errants  of  the  days  of  chivalry, 
seeking  for  glory  and  honours,  not  by 
the  sword,  but  by  learning.    This  Vanini 


92     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

was    a    somewhat    vain    and    ridiculous 
person.      Not  content  with  his  Christian 
name    Lucilio,   he   assumed    the    grandi- 
loquent and  high-sounding  cognomen  of 
Julius  Ccesar,  wishing  to  attach  to  him- 
self some  of  the  glory  of  the  illustrious 
founder  of  the  Roman  empire.     As  the 
proud  Roman  declared   Veni,    Vidi,    Vici, 
so  would  he  carry  on  the  same  victorious 
career,  subduing  all  rival  philosophers  by 
the  power  of  his  eloquence  and  learning. 
He    visited    Naples,    wandered    through 
France,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Swit- 
zerland, and  England,  and  finally  stationed 
himself  in  France,  first  at  Lyons,  and  then 
in  a  convent  at  Toulouse.     At  Lyons  he 
produced    his   famous    and    fatal    book, 
Amphitheatrum  ceternce providetitice  diviiio- 
magiaim  ,  Christiano  -  Physicum,     nee   non 
Astrologo-Catholicum     (Lugduni,      1616). 
It  was  published  with  the  royal  assent, 
but  afterwards  brought  upon   its  author 
the  charge   of  Atheism.     He   concealed 
the  poison  most  carefully  ;  for  apparently 
he   defended   the   belief    in   the    Divine 
Providence  and  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,    but    with    consummate    skill    and 
subtilty   he    taught   that   which    he   pre- 
tended to  refute,  and  led  his  readers  to 
see   the   force  of  the  arguments  against 
the  Faith  of  which  he  posed  as  a  champion. 


Scknce  and  Philosophy.  93 

By  a  weak  and  feeble  defence,  by  foolish 
arguments  and   ridiculous   reasoning,  he 
secretly    exposed     the    whole     Christian 
religion   to  ridicule.     But  if  any  doubts 
were  left  whether  this  was  done  designedly 
or  unintentionally,  they  were  dispelled  by 
his  second  work,  De  admirandis  natum 
regitice  deceqiie  mortaliiun   arcanis  (Paris, 
161 6),  which,  pubhshed  in  the  form  of 
sixty  dialogues,  contained  many  profane 
statements.     In  this  work  also  he  adopted 
his   previous   plan  of  pretending   to  de- 
mohsh  the  arguments  against  the  Faith, 
while  he  secretly  sought  to  establish  them. 
He  says  that  he  had  wandered  through 
Europe    fighting    against    the     Atheists 
wherever   he   met   with   them.      He   de- 
scribes his  disputations  with  them,  care- 
fully  recording  all   their   arguments;  he 
concludes  each   dialogue  by  saying  that 
he  reduced   the  Atheists  to  silence,  but 
with  strange   modesty  he  does  not  inform 
his  readers  what  reasonings  he  used,  and 
practically  leaves  the  carefully  drawn  up 
atheistical  arguments   unanswered.     The 
Inquisition  did  not  approve  of  this  subtle 
method  of  teaching  Atheism,  and  ordered 
him  to  be  confined  in  prison,  and  then 
to  be  burned  alive.     This  sentence  was 
carried  out  at  Toulouse  in  1619,  in  spite 
of  his  protestations  of  innocence,  and  the 


94     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

arguments  which  he  brought  forward 
before  his  judges  to  prove  the  existence 
of  God.  Some  have  tried  to  free  Vanini 
from  the  charge  of  Atheism,  but  there  is 
abundant  evidence  of  his  guilt  apart  from 
his  books.  The  tender  mercies  of  the 
Inquisition  were  cruel,  and  could  not 
allow  so  notable  a  victim  to  escape  their 
vengeance.  Whether  to  burn  a  man  is 
the  surest  way  to  convert  him,  is  a  ques- 
tion open  to  argument.  Vanini  disguised 
his  insidious  teaching  carefully,  but  it 
required  a  thick  veil  to  deceive  the  eyes 
of  Inquisitors,  who  were  wonderfully  clever 
in  spying  out  heresy,  and  sometimes 
thought  they  had  discovered  it  even  when 
it  was  not  there.  Vanini  and  many  other 
authors  would  have  been  wiser  if  they 
had  not  committed  their  ideas  to  writing, 
and  contented  themselves  with  words 
only.  Litera  scripta  inanet ;  and  disguise 
it,  twist  it,  explain  it,  as  you  will,  there 
it  stands,  a  witness  for  your  acquittal  or 
your  condemnation.  This  thought  stays 
the  course  of  the  most  restless  pen,  though 
the  racks  and  fires  of  the  Inquisition  no 
longer  threaten  the  incautious  scribe. 

We  must  not  omit  a  French  philo- 
sopher who  died  just  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  First  French  Revolution,  Jean 
Jacques  Rousseau.     It  is  well  known  that 


Science  and  Philosophy.  95 

his  work  Emile,  oti  de  r Education,  par 
J.  J.  Rousseau,  Citoyen  de  Geneve  {a 
Amsterdam,  1762,  4  vols.,  in-12),  obliged 
him  to  fly  from  France  and  Switzerland, 
in  both  of  which  countries  he  was  adjudged 
to  prison.  For  many  years  he  passed  a 
wandering,  anxious  life,  ever  imagining 
that  his  best  friends  wished  to  betray  him. 
Of  his  virtues  and  failings  as  an  author, 
or  of  the  vast  influence  he  exercised  over 
the  minds  of  his  countrymen,  it  is  need 
less  to  write.  This  has  already  been  done 
by  many  authors  in  many  works. 


CHAPTER   V. 
History. 


Antonius  Palearius  —  Caesar  Baronius  —  John 
Michael  Bruto — Isaac  Berniyer — Louis  Elias 
Dupin — Noel  Alexandre — Peter  Giannone — 
Joseph  Sanfelicius  (Eusebius  Philopater) — 
— Arlotto  —  Bonfadio  —  De  Thou  —  Gilbert 
Genebrard  — Joseph  Audra  —  Beaumelle  — 
John  Mariana  —  John  B.  Primi  —  John 
Christopher  Rtidiger  —  Rudbeck — Fran9ois 
Haudicquer  —  Francois  de  Rosieres  — 
Anthony  Urseus. 

[IRAVER  far  than  the  heroes  of 
Horace  was  he  who  first  dared 
to  attack  the  terrible  Inquisition, 
and  voluntarily  to  incur  the  wrath 
of  that  dread  tribunal.  Such  did  Antonius 
Palearius,  who  was  styled  Inqiiisitmiis 
Detradator,  and  in  consequence  was 
either  beheaded  (as  some  say)  in  1570,  or 
hanged,  strangled,  and  burnt  at  Rome  in 
1566.  This  author  was  Professor  of  Greek 
and  Latin  at  Sienna  and  Milan,  where  he 
was  arrested  by  order  of  Pope  Pius  V. 
and  conducted  to  Rome.  He  stated  the 
96 


History.  97 

truth  very  plainly  when  he  said  that  the 
Inquisition  was  a  dagger  pointed  at 
the  throats  of  literary  men.  As  an  in- 
stance of  the  foolishness  of  the  method 
of  discovering  the  guilt  of  the  accused, 
we  may  observe  that  Palearius  was  ad- 
judged a  heretic  because  he  preferred  to 
sign  his  name  Aonius,  instead  of  Arttonius, 
his  accuser  alleging  that  he  abhorred  the 
sign  of  the  cross  in  the  letter  T,  and 
therefore  abridged  his  name.  By  such 
absurd  arguments  were  men  doomed  to 
death. 

The  A}t?iales  Ecdesiastici  of  Cresar 
Baronius,  published  in  twelve  folio  volumes 
at  Rome  (1588-93),  is  a  stupendous  work, 
which  testifies  to  the  marvellous  industry 
and  varied  learning  of  its  author,  although 
it  contains  several  chronological  errors, 
and  perverts  history  in  order  to  establish 
the  claims  of  the  Papacy  to  temporal 
power.  The  author  of  this  work  was 
born  of  noble  family  at  Sora,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  a.d.  1538,  and  was 
a  pupil  of  St.  Philip  de  Neri,  the  founder 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Oratory,  whom 
he  succeeded  as  General  of  that  order. 
In  1596  Pope  Clement  VIII.  chose  him 
as  his  confessor,  made  him  a  cardinal 
and  librarian  of  the  Vatican.  On  the 
death  of  Clement,  Baronius  was  nominated 


98     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

for  election  to  the  Papal  throne,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  attaining  that  high  dignity 
when  the  crown  was  snatched  from  him 
by  reason  of  his  immortal  work.  In 
Tome  IX.  our  author  had  written  a  long 
history  of  the  monarchy  of  Sicily,  and 
endeavoured  to  prove  that  the  island 
rightfully  belonged  to  the  Pope,  and  not 
to  the  King  of  Spain,  who  was  then  its 
ruler.  This  so  enraged  Philip  III.  of 
Spain  that  he  published  an  edict  for- 
bidding the  tome  to  be  bought  or  read 
by  any  of  his  subjects.  Two  booksellers 
who  were  rash  enough  to  have  some 
copies  of  the  book  on  their  shelves  were 
condemned  to  row  in  the  galleys.  When 
the  election  for  the  Papal  throne  took 
place,  thirty-three  cardinals  voted  for 
Baronius,  and  he  would  have  been  made 
Pope  had  not  the  Spanish  ambassador, 
by  order  of  the  King,  who  was  practically 
master  of  Italy  at  that  time,  excluded  the 
author  of  the  Annals  from  the  election. 
This  disappointment  and  his  ill-health, 
brought  on  by  hard  study,  terminated  his 
life,  and  he  died  a.d.  1607.  The  Annales 
£cc/esiastict  occupied  Baronius  thirty  years, 
and  contain  the  history  of  the  Church 
from  the  earliest  times  to  a.d.  1198. 
Various  editions  were  printed  at  Venice, 
Cologne,  Antwerp,  Metz,  Amsterdam,  and 


History.  99 

Lucca.  It  was  continued  by  Rainaldi 
and  Laderchi,  and  the  whole  work 
was  pubhshed  in  forty-two  volumes  at 
Lucca  1738-57.  It  is  a  monument  of 
the  industry  and  patience  of  its  authors. 

Another  luckless  Italian  historian  flour- 
ished in  the  sixteenth  century,  John 
Michael  Bruto,  who  was  born  a. d.  15 15,  and 
was  the  author  of  a  very  illustrious  work, 
Historia  Florentina  (Lyons,  1562).  The 
full  title  of  the  work  is  :  Joh.  Michaelis 
Briiti  Histories  Floretttince,  Libri  VIII. ^ 
priores  ad  obitum  Laurentii  de  Medicis 
(Lugduni,  1561,  in-4).  He  wrote  with 
considerable  elegance,  judgment,  and 
force,  contradicting  the  assertions  of  the 
historian  Paolo  Giovio,  who  was  a  strong 
partisan  of  the  Medicis,  and  displaying 
much  animosity  towards  them. 

This  book  aroused  the  ire  of  the 
powerful  family  of  the  Medicis,  and  was 
suppressed  by  public  authority.  Bruto 
encouraged  the  brave  citizens  of  Florence 
to  preserve  inviolate  the  liberties  of  their 
republic,  and  to  withstand  all  the  attempts 
of  the  Medicis  to  deprive  them  of  their 
rights.  On  account  of  its  prohibition  the 
work  is  very  rare,  for  the  chiefs  of  the 
Florentines  took  care  to  buy  all  the  copies 
which  they  could  procure.  In  order  to 
avoid  the  snares  which  the  Medicis  and 


100     Books  Fata!  to  their  Authors. 

other  powerful  Italian  factions  knew  so 
well  how  to  weave  around  those  who  were 
obnoxious  to  them — an  assassin's  dagger 
or  a  poisoned  cup  was  not  then  difficult 
to  procure — Bruto  was  compelled  to  seek 
safety  in  flight,  and  wandered  through 
various  European  countries,  enduring 
great  poverty  and  privations.  His  exile 
continued  until  his  death,  which  took 
place  in  Transylvania,  a.d,  1593. 

The  Jesuit  Isaac  Joseph  Berruyer 
was  condemned  by  the  Parliament  of 
Paris  in  1756  to  be  deposed  from  his 
office  and  to  publicly  retract  his  opinions 
expressed  in  his  Histoire  du  Peuple  de 
Dieu.  The  first  part,  consisting  of  seven 
volumes,  4to,  appeared  in  Paris  in  1728, 
the  second  in  1755,  and  the  third  in 
1758.  The  work  was  censured  by  two 
Popes,  Benedict  XIV.  and  Clement  XIII., 
as  well  as  by  the  Sorbonne  and  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris.  Berruyer  seems  to  have 
had  few  admirers.  He  delighted  to 
revel  in  the  details  of  the  loves  of  the 
patriarchs,  the  unbridled  passion  of 
Potiphar's  wife,  the  costume  of  Judith, 
her  intercourse  with  Holophernes,  and 
other  subjects,  the  accounts  of  which  his 
prurient  fancy  did  not  improve.  His 
imaginative  productions  caused  him  many 
troubles.     The     Jesuits    disavowed     the 


History.  lOi 

work,  and,  as  we  have  said,  its  author  was 
deposed  from  his  office. 

The  French  ecclesiastical  historian 
Louis  Elias  Dupin,  born  in  1657  and 
descended  from  a  noble  family  in 
Normandy,  was  the  author  of  the  illus- 
trious work  La  Bibliotheque  Universelle 
def  aiiteurs  ecclesiastiques.  Dupin  was  a 
learned  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  and 
professor  of  the  College  of  France ;  and 
he  devoted  most  of  his  life  to  his  immense 
work,  which  is  a  proof  of  his  marvellous 
energy  and  industry.  He  gives  an  account 
of  the  lives  of  the  writers,  a  catalogue  of 
their  works,  with  the  dates  when  they 
were  issued,  and  a  criticism  of  their  style 
and  of  the  doctrines  set  forth  therein. 
But  the  learned  historian  involved  himself 
in  controversy  with  the  advocates  of 
Papal  supremacy  by  publishing  a  book, 
De  Antigua  Ecclesice  disciplina,  in  which 
he  defended  with  much  zeal  the  liberty 
of  the  Galilean  Church.  He  lived  at  the 
time  when  that  Church  was  much  agitated 
by  the  assumptions  of  Pope  Clement  XL, 
aided  by  the  worthless  Louis  XIV.,  and 
by  the  resistance  of  the  brave-hearted 
Jansenists  to  the  famous  Bull  Unigenitus. 
For  three  years  France  was  torn  by  these 
disputes.  A  large  number  of  the  bishops 
were   opposed   to   the   enforcing   of  this 


102     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

bull,  and  the  first  theological  school  in 
Europe,  the  Sorbonne,  joined  with  them 
in  resisting  the  tyranny  of  the  Pope  and  the 
machinations  of  Madame  de  Maintenon. 

Dupin  took  an  active  part  with  the 
other  theologians  of  his  school  in  opposing 
this  Unigenitiis,  and  wrote  his  book  De 
Antiqua  EcclesicE  disciplina  in  order  to 
defend  the  Gallican  Church  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  In  this 
work  he  carefully  distinguishes  the  uni- 
versal Catholic  Church  from  the  Roman 
Church,  and  shows  that  the  power  of 
the  Papacy  was  not  founded  on  any 
warrant  of  Holy  Scripture,  nor  on  the 
judgments  of  the  Fathers.  He  allows  that 
the  power  of  keys  was  given  to  St.  Peter, 
but  not  to  one  man  individually,  but  to 
the  whole  Church  represented  by  him. 
The  authority  of  the  Pope  extends  not 
beyond  certain  fixed  boundaries,  and  the 
temporal  and  civil  power  claimed  by  the 
Papacy  is  not  conjoined  to  the  spiritual 
power,  and  ought  to  be  separated  from  it. 
This  plain  speaking  did  not  commend 
itself  to  the  occupier  of  the  Papal  throne, 
nor  to  his  tool  Louis  XIV.,  who  deprived 
Dupin  of  his  professorship  and  banished 
him  to  Chatelleraut.  Dupin's  last  years 
were  occupied  with  a  correspondence 
with   Archbishop   Wake    of    Canterbury, 


History.  103 

who  was  endeavouring  to  devise  a  plan 
for  the  reunion  of  the  Churches  of  France 
and  England.  Unhappily  the  supporters 
of  the  National  Church  of  France  were 
overpowered  by  the  Ultramontane  party  ; 
otherwise  it  might  have  been  possible  to 
carry  out  this  project  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
all  who  long  for  the  unity  of  Christendom. 
Dupin  died  a.d.  17 19. 

A  companion  in  misfortune  was  Noel 
Alexandre,  a  French  ecclesiastical  his- 
torian who  lived  at  the  same  period  and 
shared  Dupin's  views  with  regard  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope.  His  work  is 
entitled  Natalis  Alexandri  Historia  Ecde- 
siastica  Veteris  et  Novi  Testametiti,  cum 
Dissertationibiis  historico-chro7iologicis  et 
criticis  {Farisils,  Dezallier,  1669,  sen  17 14, 
8  torn  en  7  vol.  in-foL).  The  results  of  his 
researches  were  not  very  favourable  to  the 
Court  of  Rome.  The  Inquisition  examined 
and  condemned  the  work.  Its  author  was 
excommunicated  by  Innocent  XL  in  1684. 
This  sentence  was  subsequently  removed, 
as  we  find  our  author  Provincial  of  the 
Dominican  Order  in  1706;  but  having 
subscribed  his  name  to  the  celebrated 
Cas  de  Conscience,  together  with  forty 
other  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  he  was 
banished  to  Chatelleraut  and  deprived 
of  his  pension.     He  died  in   1724. 


I04     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Italian  historians  seem  to  have  fared 
ill,  and  our  next  author,  Peter  Giannone, 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  He  was 
born  in  1676,  and  resided  some  time  at 
Naples,  following  the  profession  of  a 
lawyer.  There  he  published  in  1723  four 
volumes  of  his  illustrious  work  entitled 
Deir  Historia  civile  del  Regno  di  Napoli, 
dopo  Forigine  sino  ad  re  Carlo  VI.,  da 
Messer  P.  Giannone  {Napoli,  Nicolo  Naro, 
1723,  in-4),  which,  on  account  of  certain 
strictures  upon  the  temporal  authority  of 
the  Pope,  involved  him  in  many  troubles. 

This  remarkable  work  occupied  the 
writer  twenty  years,  and  contains  the 
result  of  much  study  and  research,  ex- 
posing with  great  boldness  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals,  and 
other  ecclesiastical  enormities,  and  reveal- 
ing many  obscure  points  with  regard  to 
the  constitution,  laws,  and  customs  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  He  was  aware  of 
the  great  dangers  which  would  threaten 
him,  if  he  dared  to  publish  this  immortal 
work ;  but  he  bravely  faced  the  cruel 
fate  which  awaited  him,  and  verified  the 
prophetic  utterance  of  a  friend,  "You 
have  placed  on  your  head  a  crown  of 
thorns,  and  of  very  sharp  ones." 

This  book  created  many  difficulties 
between    the  King    of    Naples   and   the 


History.  105 

occupant  of  the  Papal  See,  and  its  author 
was  excommunicated  and  compelled  to 
leave  Naples,  while  his  work  was  placed 
on  the  index  of  prohibited  books.  Gian- 
none  then  led  a  wandering  life  for  some 
time,  and  at  length  imagined  that  he  had 
found  a  safe  asylum  at  Venice.  But  his 
powerful  enemies  contrived  that  he  should 
be  expelled  from  the  territory  of  the 
Venetian  republic.  Milan,  Padua,  Modena 
afforded  him  only  temporary  resting-places, 
and  at  last  he  betook  himself  to  Geneva. 
There  he  began  to  write  Vol.  V.  of  his 
history.  He  was  accosted  one  day  by  a 
certain  nobleman,  who  professed  great 
admiration  of  his  writings,  and  was  much 
interested  in  all  that  Giannone  told  him. 
His  new  friend  invited  him  to  dinner  at 
a  farmstead  which  was  situated  not  far 
from  Geneva,  but  just  within  the  borders 
of  the  kingdom  of  Savoy.  Fearing  no 
treachery,  Giannone  accepted  the  invita- 
tion of  his  new  friend,  but  the  repast  was 
not  concluded  before  he  was  arrested  by 
order  of  the  King  of  Sardmia,  conveyed  to 
a  prison,  and  then  transferred  to  Rome. 
The  fates  of  the  poor  captives  in  St. 
Angelo  were  very  similar.  In  spite  of  a 
useless  retractation  of  his  "  errors,"  he 
was  never  released,  and  died  in  prison  in 
T758.     His   history   was    translated   into 


io6     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

French,  and  published  in  four  volumes  in 
1742  at  the  Hague.  Giannone's  work  has 
furnished  with  weapons  many  of  the  adver- 
saries of  Papal  dominion,  and  one  Vernet 
collected  all  the  passages  in  this  book, 
so  fatal  to  its  author,  which  were  hostile 
to  the  Pope,  and  many  of  his  scathing 
criticisms  and  denunciations  of  abuses, 
and  published  the  extracts  under  the  title 
Anecdotes  ecdesiastiques  (The  Hague,  1738). 
The  work  of  Giannone  on  the  civil 
history  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples  excited 
Joseph  Sanfelicius,  of  the  order  of  the 
Jesuits,  to  reply  to  the  arguments  of  the 
former  relating  to  the  temporal  power  of 
the  Pope.  This  man,  assuming  the  name 
of  Eusebius  Philopater,  wrote  in  a.d.  1728 
a  fatal  book  upon  the  civil  history  of 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  in  which  he 
attacked  Giannone  with  the  utmost 
vehemence,  and  heaped  upon  him  every 
kind  of  disgraceful  accusation  and  calumny. 
This  work  was  first  published  secretly, 
and  then  sold  openly  by  two  booksellers, 
by  whom  it  was  disseminated  into  every 
part  of  Italy.  It  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Regent,  who  summoned  his  council 
and  inquired  what  action  should  be  taken 
with  regard  to  it.  With  one  voice  they 
decided  against  the  book ;  its  sale  was 
prohibited,  and  its  author  banished. 


History.  107 

A  book  entitled  Histoire  de  la  tyrannie 
et  des  exces  dont  se  rendirent  coiipables  les 
Habitans  de  Padoue  dans  la  guerre  quHls 
etirent  avec  ceux  de  Vice/ice,  par  Arlotto, 
notaire  a  Viceftce,  carries  us  back  to  the 
stormy  period  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
when  Italy  was  distracted  by  war,  the 
great  republics  ever  striving  for  the  supre- 
macy. Arlotto  wrote  an  account  of  the 
cruelties  of  the  people  of  Padua  when 
they  conquered  Vicenza,  who,  in  revenge, 
banished  the  author,  confiscated  his  goods, 
and  pronounced  sentence  of  death  on 
any  one  who  presumed  to  read  his  work. 
Happily  Vicenza  succeeded  in  throwing 
off  the  yoke  of  Padua,  and  Arlotto  re- 
covered his  possessions.  This  book  was 
so  severely  suppressed  that  its  author 
searched  in  vain  for  a  copy  in  order  that 
he  might  republish  it,  and  only  the  title 
of  his  work  is  known. 

Genoa  too  has  its  literary  martyrs, 
amongst  whom  was  Jacopo  Bonfadio,  a 
professor  of  philosophy  at  that  city  in 
1545.  He  wrote  A  finales  Genuendis,  ab 
anno  1528  recuperatce  libertatis  usque  ad 
annum  1550,  libri  quinque  iyPapice,  1585, 
in-4).  His  truthful  records  aroused  the 
animosity  of  the  powerful  Genoese  families. 
The  Dorias  and  the  Adornos,  the  Spinolas 
and  Fieschi,  were  not    inclined  to  treat 


io8     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tenderly  so  daring  a  scribe,  who  presumed 
to  censure  their  misdeeds.  They  pro- 
ceeded to  accuse  the  author  of  a  crime 
which  merited  the  punishment  of  death 
by  burning.  His  friends  procured  for 
him  the  special  favour  that  he  should  be 
beheaded  before  his  body  was  burnt. 
The  execution  took  place  in  1561.  The 
annals  have  been  translated  into  Italian 
by  Paschetti,  and  a  new  Latin  edition  was 
published  at  Brescia  in  1747. 

Books  have  sometimes  been  fatal,  not 
only  to  authors,  but  to  their  posterity  also  ] 
so  it  happened  to  the  famous  French  his- 
torian De  Thou,  who  wrote  a  valuable 
history  of  his  own  times  (1553 — 1601), 
Historia  sui  teinporis*  This  great  work 
was  written  in  Latin  in  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  books,  and  afterwards  trans- 
lated into  French  and  published  in  sixteen 
volumes.  The  important  offices  which 
De  Thou  held,  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  purposes  of  the  King  and  the 
intrigues  of  the  French  Court,  the  special 
embassies  on  which  he  was  engaged,  as  well 
as  his  judicial  mind  and  historical  apti- 
tude, his  love  of  truth,  his  tolerance  and 

*  The  title  of  the  edition  of  1604  is  Jacobi 
Augusti  Tluianiin  sttpreiiia  regni  Gallici curia prcs- 
sidis  insiilati,  liistoriarum  sui  ietnporis  {Parisiis 
Sonnius,  Patisson,  Drouart,  in-foL). 


History.  109 

respect  for  justice,  his  keen  penetration 
and  critical  faculty,  render  his  memoirs 
extremely  valuable.  In  1572  he  accom- 
panied the  Italian  ambassador  to  Italy  ; 
then  he  was  engaged  on  a  special  mission 
to  the  Netherlands  ;  for  twenty-four  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Parliament  of 
Paris.  Henry  III.  employed  him  on 
various  missions  to  Germany,  Italy,  and  to 
different  provinces  of  his  own  country, 
and  on  the  accession  of  Henry  IV.  he 
followed  the  fortunes  of  that  monarch, 
and  was  one  of  the  signatories  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes.  But  his  writings  created 
enemies,  and  amongst  them  the  most 
formidable  was  the  mighty  Richelieu,  who 
disliked  him  because  our  author  had  not 
praised  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the 
powerful  minister,  and  had  been  guilty  of 
the  unpardonable  offence  of  not  bestowing 
sufficient  honour  upon  Richelieu  himself. 
Such  a  slight  was  not  to  be  forgiven,  and 
when  De  Thou  applied  for  the  post  of 
President  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris  from 
Louis  XIII.,  the  favourite  took  care  that 
the  post  should  be  given  to  some  one  else, 
although  it  had  been  promised  to  our 
author  by  the  late  monarch.  This  dis- 
appointment and  the  continued  opposition 
of  Richelieu  killed  De  Thou,  who  died  in 
1 61 7.     But   the  revenge  of  the  minister 


no     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

was    unsated.      Frederick    Augustus    de 
Thou,    the    son    of    the    historian,   and 
formerly  a  protege  of  RicheHeu,  was  con- 
demned to  death  and  executed.     Enraged 
by   the   treatment   which   his  father  had 
received  from  the  minister,  he  had  turned 
against    his    former    patron,    and    some 
imprudent    letters    to    the    Countess    of 
Chevreuse,   which    fell    into   Richelieu's 
hands,  caused  the  undying  animosity  of 
the  minister,  and  furnished  a  pretext  for 
the  punishment  of  his  former  friend,  and 
the  completion  of  his  vengeance  upon  the 
author  oi  Historia  sui  temporis.    Casaubon 
declares  that  this  history  is  the  greatest 
work  of  its  kind  which  had  been  pub- 
lished since  the  Annals  of  Livy.     Chan- 
cellor Hardwicke  is  said  to  have  been  so 
fond  of  it  as  to  have  resigned  his  office 
and   seals  on  purpose  to  read   it.     The 
book   contains   some   matter   which   was 
written  by  Camden,  and  destined  for  his 
Elizabeth,  but  erased  by  order  of  the  royal 
censor.      Sir   Robert    Filmer,    Camden's 
friend,   states  that   the  English  historian 
sent  all  that  he  was  not  suffered  to  print 
to     his     correspondent     Thuanus,     who 
printed  it  all  faithfully  in  his  annals  with- 
out altering  a  word. 

On    the    tomb    of    our    next    author 
stands    the   epitaph     Urna   capit  cineres, 


History.  1 1 1 

nomen  non  orbe  tenetur.  This  writer 
was  Gilbert  Genebrard,  a  French  author 
of  considerable  learning,  who  main- 
tained that  the  bishops  should  be  elected 
by  the  clergy  and  people  and  not  nomi- 
nated by  the  king.  His  book,  written  at 
Avignon,  is  entitled  De  sacrarum  electio7ium 
jure  et  ?iecessitate  ad  Ecclesice  Gallicance 
redintegraiionein,  audore  G.  Genebrardo 
{Parisiis,  Nivellius,  1593,  in-8).  The 
Parliament  of  Aix  ordered  the  book  to 
be  burned,  and  its  author  banished  from 
the  kingdom  and  to  suffer  death  if  he 
attempted  to  return.  He  survived  his 
sentence  only  one  year,  and  died  in  the 
Burgundian  monastery  of  Semur.  He 
loved  to  declaim  against  princes  and 
great  men,  and  obscured  his  literary  glory 
by  his  bitter  invectives.  One  of  his  works 
is  entitled  Excommunication  des  Eccle- 
siastiques  qui  ont  assiste  au  service  divin  ' 
avec  Henri  de  Valois  apres  C assassinat  du 
Cardinal  de  Guise  (1589,  in-8).  Certainly 
the  judgment  of  posterity  has  not  fultilled 
the  proud  boast  of  his  epitaph. 

Joseph  Audra,  Professor  of  History  at 
the  College  of  Toulouse,  composed  a  work 
for  the  benefit  of  his  pupils  entitled 
Abrege  d'Histoire  generate,  par  i'Abbc 
Audra  (Toulouse,  1770),  which  was  con- 
demned, and  deprived  Audra  of  his  pro- 


112     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

fessorship,  and  also  of  his  life.  He  died 
from  the  chagrin  and  disappointment 
which  his  misfortunes  caused. 

The  author  of  Menioires  et  Lettres 
de  Madame  de  Maintenon  (Amster- 
dam, 1755,  15  vols.,  in-12)  found  his 
subject  a  dangerous  one,  inasmuch  as  it 
conducted  him  to  the  Bastille,  a  very  ex- 
cellent reformatory  for  audacious  scribes. 
Laurence  Anglivielle  de  la  Beaumelle, 
born  in  1727,  had  previously  visited  that 
same  house  of  correction  on  account  of 
his  political  views  expressed  in  Mes 
Fensees,  published  at  Copenhagen  in 
175 1.  In  his  Memoires  he  attributed  to 
the  mistress-queen  of  Louis  XIV.  sayings 
which  she  never  uttered,  and  his  style 
lacks  the  dignity  and  decency  of  true 
historical  writings.  Voltaire  advised  that 
La  Beaumelle  should  be  fettered  together 
with  a  band  of  other  literary  opponents 
and  sent  to  the  galleys. 

Among  Spanish  historians  the  name  of 
John  Mariana  is  illustrious.  He  was  born 
at  Talavera  in  1537,  and,  in  spite  of  certain 
misfortunes  which  befell  him  on  account 
of  his  works,  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years.  He  was  of  the  order  of  the 
Jesuits,  studied  at  Rome  and  Paris,  and 
then  retired  to  the  house  of  the  Jesuits  at 
Toledo,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  his 


History.  113 

writings.  His  most  important  work  was 
his  Historice  de  rebus  Hispa7iice  libri  xxx., 
published  at  Toledo  1592-95.  But  thework 
which  brought  him  into  trouble  was  one  en- 
titled Z)e  Mufafione  Afonetce,vi,'hich  exposed 
the  frauds  of  the  ministers  of  the  King  of 
Spain  with  regard  to  the  adulteration  of 
the  public  money,  and  censured  the  negli- 
gence and  laziness  of  Philip  III.,  declaring 
that  Spain  had  incurred  great  loss  by  the 
depreciation  in  the  value  of  the  current 
coin  of  the  realm.  This  book  aroused 
the  indignation  of  the  King,  who  ordered 
Mariana  to  be  cast  into  prison.  The 
Spanish  historian  certainly  deserved  this 
fate,  not  on  account  of  the  book  which 
brought  this  punishment  upon  him,  but 
on  account  of  another  work,  entitled  Z>e 
Rege  ac  Regis  institutione  Libri  Hi.  ad 
Philipputn  III.,  Hispanice  regent  catholi- 
cum.  Toleti,  apud  Petruni  Rodericum,  1599, 
in-^.  In  this  book  Mariana  propounded 
the  hateful  doctrine,  generally  ascribed  to 
the  Jesuits,  that  a  king  who  was  a  tyrant 
and  a  heretic  ought  to  be  slain  either  by 
open  violence  or  by  secret  plots.  It  is 
said  that  the  reading  of  this  book  caused 
Ravaillac  to  commit  his  crime  of  assas- 
sinating Henry  IV.  of  France,  and  that  in 
consequence  of  this  the  book  was  burned 
at  Paris  in  16 10  by  order  of  the  Parliament. 


114     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

The  historian  of  the  Dutch  war  of  1672 
endured  much  distress  by  reason  of  his 
truthfulness.  This  was  John  Baptist 
Primi,  Count  of  Saint-Majole.  His  book 
was  first  pubHshed  in  Itahan,  and  entitled 
His  tor  la  della  guerra  d'Olanda  nelP  anno 
1672  {In  Farigi,  1682),  and  in  the  same 
year  a  French  translation  was  issued.  The 
author  alludes  to  the  discreditable  Treaty 
of  Dover,  whereby  Charles  II.,  the 
Sovereign  of  England,  became  a  pen- 
sioner of  France,  and  basely  agreed  to 
desert  his  Dutch  allies,  whom  he  had 
promised  to  aid  with  all  his  resources. 
The  exposure  of  this  base  business  was 
not  pleasing  to  the  royal  ears.  Lord 
Preston,  the  English  ambassador,  applied 
to  the  Court  for  the  censure  of  the  author, 
who  was  immediately  sent  to  the  Bastille. 
His  book  was  very  vigorously  suppressed, 
so  that  few  copies  exist  of  either  the 
Italian  or  French  versions. 

Amongst  historians  we  include  one 
writer  of  biography,  John  Christopher 
Riidiger,  who,  under  the  name  of  Clar- 
mundus,  wrote  a  book  De  Vitis  Claris- 
simorutfi  in  re  Litteraria  Vivorum.  He 
discoursed  pleasantly  upon  the  fates  of 
authors  and  their  works,  but  unhappily 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  powerful 
German   family    of  Carpzov,  which   pro- 


History.  115 

duced  many  learned  theologians,  lawyers, 
and  philologists.  The  chief  of  this  family 
was  one  Samuel  Benedict  Carpzov,  who 
lived  at  Wittenberg,  wrote  several  disser- 
tations, and  was  accounted  the  Chrysostom 
of  his  age  (1565 — 1624).  Riidiger  in 
Part  IX.  of  his  work  wrote  the  biography 
of  this  learned  man,  suppressing  his  good 
qualities  and  ascribing  to  him  many  bad 
ones,  and  did  scant  justice  to  the  memory 
of  so  able  a  theologian.  This  so  enraged 
the  sons  and  other  relations  of  the  great 
man  that  they  accused  Riidiger  of  slander 
before  the  ecclesiastical  court,  and  the 
luckless  author  was  ordered  to  be  beaten 
with  rods,  and  to  withdraw  all  the  calum- 
nies he  had  uttered  against  the  renowned 
Carpzov.  On  account  of  his  books 
Riidiger  was  imprisoned  at  Dresden, 
where  he  died. 

Haudicquer,  the  unfortunate  compiler  of 
genealogies,  was  doomed  to  the  galleys  on 
account  of  the  complaints  of  certain  noble 
families  who  felt  themselves  aggrieved  by 
his  writings.  His  work  was  entitled  La 
Nobiliaire  de  Ficardie,  contenant  les  Gene- 
ralites  d' Amiens,  de  Soissons,  des  pays  recon- 
quis,  et  partie  de  l^ Election  de  Beauvais,  le 
tout  justifie  conformement  aux  Jiigemens 
rendiis  en  faveiir  de  la  Province.  Par 
Francois  Hatidicquer  de  Bla?icourt  (Paris, 


ii6     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

1693,  in-4).  Bearing  ill-will  to  several  illus- 
trious families,  he  took  the  opportunity 
of  vilifying  and  dishonouring  them  in  his 
work  by  many  false  statements  and  patents, 
which  so  enraged  them  that  they  accom- 
plished the  destruction  of  the  calumniating 
compiler.  The  book,  in  spite  of  his  un- 
trustworthiness,  is  sought  after  by  curious 
book-lovers,  as  the  copies  of  it  are  ex- 
tremely rare,  and  few  perfect. 

It  is  usually  hazardous  to  endeavour  to 
alter  one's  facts  in  order  to  support  his- 
torical theories.  This  M.  Frangois  de 
Rosieres,  Archdeacon  of  Toul,  discovered, 
who  endeavoured  to  show  in  his  history  of 
Lorraine  that  the  crown  of  France  rightly 
belonged  to  that  house.  His  book  is  en- 
titled Stemmatum  Lotharingice  et  Barri 
diicum,  Tomi  VII.,  ab  Antenore  Trojano,  ad 
Caroli  III,  ducis  tempora,  etc.  (Farisiis, 
1580,  in-folio).  The  heroes  of  the  Trojan 
war  had  a  vast  number  of  descendants  all 
over  Western  Europe,  if  early  genealogies 
are  to  be  credited.  But  De  Rosieres 
altered  and  transposed  many  ancient 
charters  and  royal  patents,  in  order  to 
support  his  theory  with  regard  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  House  of  Lorraine. 
His  false  documents  were  proved  to  have 
been  forged  by  the  author.  The  anger  of 
the  French  was  aroused.     He  was  com- 


History.  1 1 7 

pelled  to  sue  for  pardon  before  Henry  III. ; 
his  book  was  proscribed  and  burnt ;  but 
for  the  protection  of  the  House  of  Guise, 
he  would  have  shared  the  fate  of  his  book, 
and  was  condemned  to  imprisonment  in 
the  Bastille. 

The  learned  Swedish  historian  Rudbeck 
may  perhaps  be  included  in  our  list  of  ill- 
fated  authors,  although  his  death  was  not 
brought  about  by  the  machinations  of  his 
foes.  He  wrote  a  great  work  on  the 
origin,  antiquities,  and  history  of  Sweden, 
but  soon  after  its  completion  he  witnessed 
the  destruction  of  his  book  in  the  great 
fire  of  Upsal  in  1702.  The  disappoint- 
ment caused  by  the  loss  of  his  work  was 
so  great  that  he  died  the  same  year. 

Rudbeck  is  not  the  only  author  who  so 
loved  his  work  that  he  died  broken- 
hearted when  deprived  of  his  treasure. 
A  great  scholar  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
one  Anthony  Urseus,  who  lived  at  Forli, 
had  just  finished  a  great  work,  when  un- 
happily he  left  a  lighted  lamp  in  his 
study  during  his  absence.  The  fatal  flame 
soon  enveloped  his  books  and  papers,  and 
the  poor  author  on  his  return  went  mad, 
beating  his  head  against  the  door  of  his 
palace,  and  raving  blasphemous  words. 
In  vain  his  friends  tried  to  comfort  him, 
and   the   poor  man  wandered   away  into 


ii8     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the   woods,    his   mind   utterly   distraught 
by  the  enormity  of  his  loss. 

Few  authors  have  the  bravery,  the 
energy,  and  amazing  perseverance  of 
Carlyle,  who,  when  his  French  Revolution 
had  been  burned  by  the  thoughtlessness 
of  his  friend's  servant,  could  calmly  return 
to  fight  his  battle  over  again,  and  repro- 
duce the  MS.  of  that  immortal  work  of 
which  hard  fate  had  cruelly  deprived  him. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


Politics  and  Statesmanship. 

John  Fisher— Reginald  Pole—"  Martin  Marpre- 
late"— Udal— Penry— Hacket— Coppinger— 
Arthington— Cartwright— Cowell— Leighton 
—  John  Stubbs  — Peter  Wentworth  — R. 
Doleman  —  J.  Hales  —  Reboul  ^  William 
Prynne— Burton— Bastwick— John  Selden— 
John  Tutchin — Delaune— Samuel  Johnson — 
Algernon  Sidney— Edmund  Richer— John  de 
Falkemberg— Jean  Lenoir— Simon  Linguet 
—Abbe  Caveirac- Darigrand— Pietro  Sarpi 
—Jerome  Maggi— Theodore  Reinking. 

HE  thorny  subject  of  Politics  has 
had  many  victims,  and  not  a  few- 
English  authors  who  have  dealt 
in  State-craft  have  suffered  on 
account  of  their  works.  The  stormy 
period  of  the  Reformation,  with  its  ebbs 
and  flows,  its  action  and  reaction,  was  not 
a  very  safe  time  for  writers  of  pronounced 
views.  The  way  to  the  block  was  worn 
hard  by  the  feet  of  many  pilgrims,  and 
the  fires  of  Smithfield  shed  a  lurid  glare 
119 


120     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

over   this    melancholy   page   of    English 
history. 

One  of  the  earliest  victims  was  John 
Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  a  prelate 
renowned  for  his  learning,  his  pious  life, 
and  for  the  royal  favour  which  he  enjoyed 
Ijoth  from  Henry  VII.  and  Henry  VIII. 
The  Margaret  Professorship  at  Cambridge 
and  the  Colleges  of  St.  John's  and  Christ's 
owe  their  origin  to  Fisher,  who  induced 
Margaret,  the  Countess  of  Richmond  and 
mother  of  Henry  VII.,  to  found  them. 
Fisher  became  Chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity, and  acted  as  tutor  to  Henry  VIII. 
High  dignities  and  royal  favours  were 
bestowed  upon  the  man  whom  kings 
delighted  to  honour.  But  Bishop  Fisher 
was  no  time-serving  prelate  nor  respecter 
of  persons,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  declare 
his  convictions,  whatever  consequences 
might  result.  When  the  much-married 
monarch  wearied  of  his  first  wife,  the  ill- 
fated  Catherine,  and  desired  to  wed  Anne 
Boleyn,  the  bishops  were  consulted,  and 
Fisher  alone  declared  that  in  his  opinion 
the  divorce  would  be  unlawful.  He  wrote 
a  fatal  book  against  the  divorce,  and  thus 
roused  the  hatred  of  the  headstrong 
monarch.  He  was  cast  into  prison  on 
account  of  his  refusing  the  oath  with 
regard  to  the  succession,  and  his  supposed 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     I2i 

connection  with  the  treason  of  Elizabeth 
Barton,  whose  mad  ravings  caused  many 
troubles  ;  he  was  deprived,  not  only  of  his 
revenues,  but  also  of  his  clothes,  in  spite 
of  his  extreme  age  and  the  severity  of  a 
hard  winter,  and  for  twelve  long  dreary 
months  languished  in  the  Tower.  The 
Pope  added  to  the  resentment  which 
Henry  bore  to  his  old  tutor  by  making  him 
a  Cardinal ;  and  the  Red  Hat  sealed  his 
doom.  "  The  Pope  may  send  him  a  hat," 
said  the  ferocious  monarch;  "but.  Mother 
of  God,  he  shall  wear  it  on  his  shoulders, 
for  I  will  leave  him  never  a  head  to 
set  it  on."  He  was  charged  with  having 
"  falsely,  maliciously,  and  traitorously 
wished,  willed,  and  desired,  and  by  craft 
imagined,  invented,  practised,  and  at- 
tempted, to  deprive  the  King  of  the  dignity, 
title,  and  name  of  his  royal  estate,  that  is, 
of  his  title  and  name  of  supreme  head  of 
the  Church  of  England,  in  the  Tower, 
on  the  seventh  day  of  May  last,  when, 
contrary  to  his  allegiance,  he  said  and 
pronounced  in  the  presence  of  different 
true  subjects,  falsely,  maliciously,  and 
traitorously,  these  words  :  the  King  oure 
soveraign  lord  is  not  supreme  hedd  yn 
erthe  of  the  Cherche  of  Englande."  These 
words,  drawn  from  him  by  Rich,  were  found 
sufficient   to  effect   the   King's   pleasure. 


122     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

The  aged  prelate  was  pronounced  guilty, 
and  beheaded  on  July  22nd,  1535.  On 
his  way  to  the  scaffold  he  exclaimed,  "  Feet, 
do  your  duty ;  you  have  only  a  short 
journey,"  and  then,  singing  the  Te  Deuvi 
laudamus,  he  placed  his  head  upon  the 
block,  and  the  executioner's  axe  fell. 
Although  Bishop  Fisher  was  condemned 
for  denying  the  King's  supremacy,  he 
incurred  the  wrath  of  Henry  by  his  book 
against  the  divorce,  and  that  practically 
sealed  his  fate.  His  head  was  placed  on 
a  spike  on  London  Bridge  as  a  warning 
to  others  who  might  be  rash  enough  to 
incur  the  displeasure  of  the  ruthless  King. 
Another  fatal  book  which  belongs  to 
this  period  is  Pro  imitate  ecclesits  ad 
Henricum  VIII.,  written  by  Reginald 
Pole  in  the  secure  retreat  of  Padua,  in 
which  the  author  compares  Henry  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  prays  the  Emperor 
of  Germany  to  direct  his  arms  against  so 
heretical  a  Christian,  rather  than  against 
the  Turks.  Secure  in  his  retreat  at  the 
Papal  Court,  Pole  did  not  himself  suffer 
on  account  of  his  book,  but  the  vengeance 
of  Henry  fell  heavily  upon  his  relations  in 
England,  in  whose  veins  ran  the  royal 
blood  of  the  Plantagenets  who  had  swayed 
the  English  sceptre  through  so  many 
generations.     Sir  Geoffrey  Pole,  a  brother 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      123 

of  the  cardinal,  was  seized ;  this  arrest 
was  followed  by  that  of  Lord  Montague, 
another  brother,  and  the  Countess  of 
Salisbury,  their  mother,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  brother 
of  Edward  IV.  They  were  accused  of 
having  devised  to  maintain,  promote,  and 
advance  one  Reginald  Pole,  late  Dean 
of  Exeter,  the  King's  enemy  beyond  seas, 
and  to  deprive  the  King  of  his  royal  state 
and  dignity.  Sir  Geoffrey  Pole  contrived 
to  escape  the  vengeance  of  Henry  by 
betraying  his  companions,  but  the  rest 
were  executed.  For  some  time  Pole's 
mother  was  kept  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower, 
as  a  hostage  for  her  son's  conduct.  She 
was  more  than  seventy  years  of  age,  and 
after  two  years'  imprisonment  was  con- 
demned to  be  beheaded.  When  ordered 
to  lay  her  head  upon  the  block  she 
replied,  "  No,  my  head  never  committed 
treason  ;  if  you  will  have  it,  you  must  take 
it  as  you  can."  She  was  held  down  by 
force,  and  died  exclaiming,  "  Blessed  are 
they  who  suffer  persecution  for  righteous- 
ness' sake."  Henry  endeavoured  to  tempt 
the  cardinal  to  England,  but  "  in  vain 
was  the  net  spread  in  sight  of  any  bird." 
In  his  absence  he  was  condemned  for 
treason.  The  King  of  France  and  the 
Emperor  were  asked  to  deliver  him  up  to 


124     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

justice.  Spies  and  emissaries  of  Henry 
were  sent  to  watch  him,  and  he  believed 
that  ruffians  were  hired  to  assassinate  him. 
But  he  survived  all  these  perils,  being 
employed  by  the  Pope  on  various  missions 
and  passing  his  leisure  in  literary  labours. 
He  presided  at  the  Council  of  Trent,  and 
lived  to  return  to  England  during  the 
reign  of  JMary,  became  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  strived  to  appease  the 
sanguinary  rage  of  that  dreadful  perse- 
cution which  is  a  lasting  disgrace  to 
humanity  and  to  the  unhappy  Queen,  its 
chief  instigator. 

The  rise  of  the  Puritan  faction  and  all 
the  troubles  of  the  Rebellion  caused  many 
woes  to  reckless  authors.  In  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  the  Puritan  party 
opened  a  vehement  attack  upon  the 
Episcopalians,  and  published  books  re- 
viling the  whole  body,  as  well  as  the 
individual  members.  The  most  noted 
of  these  works  were  put  forth  under  the 
fictitious  name  of  Martin  Marprelate. 
They  were  base,  scurrilous  productions, 
very  coarse,  breathing  forth  terrible  hate 
against  "  bouncing  priests  and  bishops." 
Here  is  an  example  :  A  Dialogue  where- 
in is  laid  open  the  tyramiical  dealing  of 
L.  Bishopps  against  God's  children.  It  is 
full  of  scandalous  stories  of  the  prelates, 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     125 

who  lived  irreproachable  lives,  and  were 
quite  innocent  of  the  gross  charges  which 
"  Martin  Senior  "  and  "  Martin  Junior  " 
brought  against  them.  The  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  named  Cooper,  was  a  favourite 
object  of  attack,  and  the  pamphleteers 
were  always  striving  to  make  "the  Cooper's 
hoops  to  flye  off  and  his  tubs  to  leake 
out."  In  the  Fistle  to  the  Terrible  Priests 
they  tell  us  of  "a  parson,  well-known,  who, 
being  in  the  pulpit,  and  hearing  his  dog 
cry,  he  out  with  the  text,  '  Why,  how 
now,  hoe  !  can  you  not  let  my  dog  alone 
there  ?  Come,  Springe  !  come,  Springe  ! ' 
and  whistled  the  dog  to  the  pulpit." 
Martin  Marprelate  was  treated  by  some 
according  to  his  folly,  and  was  scoffed  in 
many  pamphlets  by  the  wits  of  the  age 
in  language  similar  to  that  which  he  was 
so  fond  of  using.  Thus  we  have  Pasquill 
of  England  to  Martin  Junior,  in  a 
countercuffe  given  to  Martin  Junior;  A 
sound  boxe  on  the  eare  for  the  father  and 
sonnes,  Huffe,  Ruffe,  and  Smffe,  the  three 
tame  ruff[ians  of  the  Church,  who  take  pepper 
in  their  nose  because  they  camiot  7narre 
Prelates  grating ;  and  similar  publications. 
Archbishop  Whitgift  proceeded  against 
these  authors  with  much  severity.  In 
1589  a  proclamation  was  issued  against 
them;  several  were  taken  and  punished. 


126     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Udal  and  Penry,  who  were  the  chief 
authors  of  these  outrageous  works,  were 
executed.  Hacket,  Coppinger,  and  Arth- 
ington,  who  seem  to  have  been  a  trio 
of  insane  hbellers,  and  (Greenwood  and 
Barrow,  whose  seditious  books  and  pam- 
phlets were  leading  the  way  to  all  the 
horrors  of  anarchy  introduced  by  the 
Anabaptists  into  Germany  and  the  Nether- 
lands, all  felt  the  vengeance  of  the  Star 
Chamber,  and  were  severely  punished  for 
their  revilings.  The  innocent  often  suffer 
with  the  guilty,  and  Cartwright  was  im- 
prisoned for  eighteen  months,  although 
he  denied  all  connection  with  the  "  Mar- 
prelate  "  books,  and  declared  that  he  had 
never  written  or  published  anything  which 
could  be  offensive  to  her  Majesty  or 
detrimental  to  the  state. 

The  Solomon  of  the  North  and  the 
Parliament  of  England  dealt  hard  justice 
to  the  Interpreter  (1607),  which  nearly 
caused  its  author's  death.  He  published 
also  Institutiones  Juris  Anglicani  ad  serieni 
Instittitionum  i inperialiuiti  (Cambridge, 
1665,  8vo),  which  involved  him  in  a 
charge  of  wishing  to  confound  the  English 
with  the  Roman  law.  Dr.  Cowell,  in  the 
former  work,  sounded  the  battle-cry 
which  was  heard  a  few  years  later  on 
many  a  field  when  the   strength  of  the 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      127 

Crown  and  Parliament  met  in  deadly 
combat.  He  contended  for  the  abso- 
lute monarchy  of  the  King  of  England. 
His  writings  are  especially  valuable  as 
illustrating  our  national  customs.  The 
author  says  :  "  My  true  end  is  the  advance- 
ment of  knowledge,  and  therefore  1  have 
published  this  poor  work,  not  only  to 
impart  the  good  thereof  to  those  young 
ones  who  want  it,  but  also  to  draw  from 
the  learned  the  supply  of  my  defects.  .  .  . 
What  a  man  saith  well  is  not  however  to 
be  rejected  because  he  hath  many  errors ; 
reprehend  who  will,  in  God's  name,  that 
is  with  sweetness  and  without  reproach. 
So  shall  he  reap  hearty  thanks  at  my 
hands,  and  thus  more  soundly  help  in 
a  few  months,  than  I,  by  tossing  and 
tumbling  my  books  at  home,  could  possibly 
have  done  in  many  years."  The  Attorney- 
General,  Sir  Edward  Coke,  was  the  deter- 
mined foe  of  the  unhappy  doctor,  en- 
deavouring to  ridicule  him  by  calling  him 
Dr.  Cowheel ;  then  telling  the  King  that 
the  book  limited  the  supreme  power  of  the 
royal  prerogative  ;  and  when  that  failed, 
he  accused  our  author  to  the  Parliament 
of  the  opposite  charge  of  betraying  the 
liberties  of  the  people.  At  length  Cowell 
was  condemned  by  the  House  to  im- 
prisonment ;  James  issued  a  proclamation 


128     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors 

against  the  book,  but  saved  its  author 
from  the  hangman.  However,  Fuller 
states  that  Dr.  Cowell's  death,  which 
occurred  soon  after  the  condemnation  of 
his  book,  was  hastened  by  the  troubles 
in  which  it  involved  him. 

A  Scottish  divine,  Dr.  Leighton,  the 
father  of  the  illustrious  Archbishop,  in- 
curred the  vengeance  of  the  Star  Chamber 
in  1630  on  account  of  his  treatise  entitled 
Syon's  Plea  against  Prelacy  (1628),  and 
received  the  following  punishment :  "  To 
be  committed  to  the  Fleet  Prison  for  life, 
and  to  pay  a  fine  of  ten  thousand  pounds 
to  the  king's  use;  to  be  degraded  from 
the  ministry  ;  to  be  brought  to  the  pillory 
at  Westminster,  while  the  court  was 
sitting,  and  be  whipped,  and  after  the 
whipping  to  have  one  of  his  ears  cut,  one 
side  of  his  nose  slit,  and  be  branded  in 
the  face  with  the  letters  S.S.,  signifying 
Sower  of  Sedition  :  after  a  few  days  to  be 
carried  to  the  pillory  in  Cheapside  on  a 
market-day,  and  be  there  likewise  whipped, 
and  have  the  other  ear  cut  off,  and  the 
other  side  of  his  nose  slit,  and  then  to  be 
shut  up  in  prison  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  unless  his  Majesty  be  graciously 
pleased  to  enlarge  him."  A  sentence 
quite  sufficiently  severe  to  deter  any  rash 
scribe  from  venturing  upon  authorship  ! 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      129 

Maiming  an  author,  cutting  off  his 
hands,  or  ears,  or  nose,  seems  to  have 
been  a  favourite  method  of  criticism  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  One  John  Stubbs 
had  his  right  hand  cut  off  for  protesting 
against  the  proposed  marriage  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  with  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  which 
bold  act  he  committed  in  his  work 
entitled  Discoverie  of  a  Gapifig  Gulf  ivhere- 
into  England  is  like  to  be  swallowed  by 
another  French  inarriage,  if  the  Lord  forbid 
not  the  banes  by  letting  her  Majestie  see 
the  sin  and  punishment  thereof  (1579). 
Hallam  states  that  the  book  was  far  from 
being  a  libel  on  the  Virgin  Queen,  but 
that  it  was  written  with  great  affection. 
However,  it  was  pronounced  to  be  "a  far- 
dell  of  false  reports,  suggestions,  and 
manifest  lies."  Its  author  and  Page,  the 
bookseller,  were  brought  into  the  open 
market  at  Westminster,  and  their  right 
hands  were  cut  off  with  a  butcher's  knife 
and  mallet.  With  amazing  loyalty,  Stubbs 
took  off  his  cap  with  his  left  hand  and 
shouted,  "  Long  live  Queen  Elizabeth  !  " 

The  autocratic  Queen  had  a  ready 
method  of  dealing  with  obnoxious  authors, 
as  poor  Peter  Wentworth  discovered,  who 
wrote  A  Pithy  Exhortation  to  Her  Majesty 
for  establishing  her  Successor  to  the  Crotvn, 
and  for  his  pains  was  committed  to  the 


130     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Tower,  where  he  pined  and  died.  This 
work  advocated  the  claims  of  James  VI. 
of  Scotland,  and  was  written  in  answer 
to  a  pamphlet  entitled  A  Conference 
about  the  Next  Successmi  to  the  Crown 
of  England.,  published  by  R.  Doleman 
(1594).  The  Jesuit  R.  Parsons,  Cardinal 
Allen,  and  Sir  Francis  Englefield  were  the 
authors,  who  advocated  the  claims  of  Lord 
Hertford's  second  son,  or  the  children  of 
the  Countess  of  Derby,  or  the  Infanta  of 
Spain.  The  authors  w^ere  safe  beyond 
seas,  but  the  printer  was  hung,  drawn,  and 
quartered. 

John  Hales  wrote  A  Declaration  of 
Succession  of  the  Crown  of  England.,  in 
support  of  Lord  Hertford's  children  by 
Lady  Catherine  Grey,  and  was  sent  to 
the  Tower. 

James  I.,  by  his  craft  and  guile,  accom- 
pHshed  several  notable  and  surprising 
matters,  and  nothing  more  remarkable 
than  actually  to  persuade  the  Pope  to 
punish  an  Italian  writer,  named  Reboul, 
for  publishing  an  apology  for  the  English 
Roman  Catholics  who  refused  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  required  by  the  English 
monarch  in  1606,  after  the  discovery  of 
the  gunpowder  plot.  This  certainly  was 
a  singular  and  remarkable  performance, 
and  must  have  required  much  tact  and 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     131 

diplomacy.  It  is  conjectured  that  the 
artful  King  so  flattered  the  Pope  as  to 
induce  him  to  protect  the  English  sove- 
reign from  the  attacks  of  his  foes. 
Reboul's  production  was  very  virulent, 
exhorting  all  Catholics  to  go  constantly 
to  England  to  excite  a  rising  against  the 
King,  and  to  strangle  the  tyrant  with  their 
hands.  The  Pope  ordered  the  furious 
writer  to  be  hanged,  and  an  account  of  his 
execution,  written  by  a  Venetian  senator, 
is  found  among  Casaubon's  collection  of 
letters. 

The  most  famous  victim  of  the  Star 
Chamber  was  William  Prynne,  whose 
work  Histriomastix,  or  the  Player's  Scourge, 
directed  against  the  sinfulness  of  play- 
acting, masques,  and  revels,  aroused  the 
indignation  of  the  Court.  This  volume 
of  more  than  a  thousand  closely  printed 
quarto  pages  contains  almost  all  that  was 
ever  written  against  plays  and  players  ; 
not  even  the  Queen  was  spared,  who 
specially  delighted  in  such  pastimes,  and 
occasionally  took  part  in  the  performances 
at  Court. 

Prynne  was  ejected  from  his  profession, 
condemned  to  stand  in  the  pillory  at 
Westminster  and  Cheapside,  to  lose  both 
his  ears,  one  in  each  place,  to  pay  a  fine 
of  ;!^5>ooo,  and  to  be  kept  in  perpetual 


132     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

imprisonment.  A  few  years  later,  on 
account  of  his  News  from  Ipswich,  he  was 
again  fined  ^5,000,  deprived  of  the  rest 
of  his  ears,  which  a  merciful  executioner 
had  partially  spared,  branded  on  both 
cheeks  with  S.L.  (Schismatical  Libeller), 
and  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life 
in  Carnarvon  Castle.  He  was  subse- 
quently removed  to  the  Castle  of  Mont 
Orgueil,  in  Jersey,  where  he  received 
kind  treatment  from  his  jailor,  Sir  Philip 
de  Carteret.  Prynne  was  conducted  in 
triumph  to  London  after  the  victory  of  the 
Parliamentarian  party,  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Commons.  His  pen  was  ever 
active,  and  he  left  behind  him  forty 
volumes  of  his  works,  a  grand  monument 
of  literary  activity. 

Associated  with  Prynne  was  Burton, 
the  author  of  two  sermons  For  God  and 
King,  who  wrote  against  Laud  and  his 
party,  and  endeavoured  to  uphold  the 
authority  of  Charles,  upon  which  he 
imagined  the  bishops  were  encroaching. 
Burton  suffered  the  same  punishment  as 
Prynne ;  and  Bastwick,  a  physician,  in- 
curred a  like  sentence  on  account  of  his 
Letany,  and  another  work  entitled  Apolo- 
geticus  ad  Prcesules  Angiicanos,  which  were 
written  while  the  author  was  a  prisoner  in 
the  Gatehouse  of  Westminster,  and  con- 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     133 

tained  a  severe  attack  upon  the  Laudian 
party,  the  High  Commission,  and  the 
Church  of  England.  He  had  previously 
been  imprisoned  and  fined  ;^  1,000  for 
his  former  works  Eknchus  Papistia^ 
Religionis  and  Flagellmn  Pontificis. 

During  this  period  of  severe  literary 
criticism  lived  John  Selden,  an  author  of 
much  industry  and  varied  learning.  He 
was  a  just,  upright,  and  fearless  man,  who 
spoke  his  mind,  upheld  what  he  deemed 
to  be  right  in  the  conduct  of  either  King 
or  Parliament,  and  was  one  of  the  best  cha- 
racters in  that  strange  drama  of  the  Great 
Rebellion.  He  was  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  Littleton,  the  Lord  Keeper  of 
the  Great  Seal,  and  together  they  studied 
the  Records,  and  were  expert  in  the 
Books  of  Law,  being  the  greatest  anti- 
quaries in  the  profession.  Selden  had  a 
great  affection  for  Charles  ;  but  the  latter 
was  exceedingly  enraged  because  Selden 
in  an  able  speech  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons declared  the  unlawfulness  of  the 
Commission  of  Array,  for  calling  out  the 
Militia  in  the  King's  name,  founded  upon 
an  ancient  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  IV.,  which  Selden  said  had  been 
repealed.  When  Lord  Falkland  wrote  a 
friendly  letter  to  remonstrate  with  him, 
he  replied  courteously  and  frankly,  recapi- 


134     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tulating  his  arguments,  and  expressing 
himself  equally  opposed  to  the  ordinance 
of  the  Parliamentarians,  who  wished  to 
summon  the  Militia  without  the  authority 
of  the  King.  With  equal  impartiality  and 
vigour  Selden  declared  the  illegality  of 
this  measure,  and  expected  that  the 
Commons  would  have  rejected  it,  but  he 
found  that  "  they  who  suffered  themselves 
to  be  entirely  governed  by  his  Reason 
when  those  conclusions  resulted  from  it 
which  contributed  to  their  own  designs, 
would  not  be  at  all  guided  by  it,  or 
submit  to  it,  when  it  persuaded  that 
which  contradicted  and  would  disappoint 
those  designs."  *  His  work  De  Decimis, 
in  which  he  tried  to  prove  that  the  giving 
of  tithes  was  not  ordered  by  any  Divine 
command,  excited  much  contention,  and 
aroused  the  animosity  of  the  clergy.  In 
consequence  of  this  in  162 1  he  was 
imprisoned,  and  remained  in  custody  for 
five  years.  On  the  dissolution  of  Parlia- 
ment in  1629,  being  obnoxious  to  the 
royal  party,  he  was  sent  to  the  Tower, 
and  then  confined  in  a  house  of  correction 
for  pirates.  But  as  a  compensation  for 
hisinjuries  in  1647  hereceived;^5, 000  from 
the  public  purse  and  became  a  member 

*  Clarendon's  History  of  the  Rebellion,  vol.  i., 
p.  667. 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      135 

of  the  Long  Parliament.  He  was  by  no 
means  a  strong  partisan  of  the  Puritan 
party,  and  when  asked  by  Cromwell  to 
reply  to  the  published  works  in  favour  of 
the  martyred  King  he  refused.  He  lived 
until  1654  and  wrote  several  works, 
amongst  which  are  Mare  clausum,  which 
was  opposed  to  the  Mare  liberum  of  the 
learned  Dutch  historian  Grotius,  Commen- 
taries on  the  Arundel  Marbles  (1629),  and 
Researches  into  the  History  of  the  Legisla- 
tion of  the  Hebrews. 

John  Tutchin,  afterwards  editor  of  the 
Observator,  was  punished  by  the  merciless 
Jeffreys  in  his  Bloody  Assize  for  writing 
seditious  verses,  and  sentenced  to  seven 
years'  imprisonment  and  to  be  flogged 
every  year  through  a  town  in  Dorsetshire. 
The  court  was  filled  with  indignation  at 
this  cruel  sentence,  and  Tutchin  prayed 
rather  to  be  hanged  at  once.  This 
privilege  was  refused,  but  as  the  poor 
prisoner,  a  mere  youth,  was  taken  ill  with 
smallpox,  his  sentence  was  remitted. 
Tutchin  became  one  of  the  most  pertina- 
cious and  vehement  enemies  of  the  House 
of  Stuart. 

Delaune's  Flea  for  the  Nonconformists 
was  very  fatal  to  its  author,  and  landed 
him  in  Newgate,  where  the  poor  man 
died.     Some   account   of  this  book  and 


136     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

its  author  is  given  in  a  previous  volume 
of  the  Book-Lover's  Library  {Books  Con- 
de^nned  to  be  Burnt),  and  the  writer  founds 
upon  it  an  attack  upon  the  Church  of 
England,  whereas  the  Church  had  about 
as  much  to  do  with  the  persecution  of 
poor  Delaune  as  the  writer  of  Condem7ie,^ 
Books  !  There  are  other  conclusions  and 
statements  also  propounded  by  the  writer 
of  that  book,  which  to  one  less  intolerant 
than  himself  would  appear  entirely  un- 
warrantable. But  this  is  not  the  place 
for  controversy. 

A  book  entitled  Jzdiati  the  Apostate 
was  very  fatal  to  that  turbulent  divine 
Samuel  Johnson,  who  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  made  himself  famous  for  his 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  civil  liberty  and 
"no  popery."  He  lived  in  very  turbulent 
times,  when  the  question  of  the  rights  of 
the  Duke  of  York,  an  avowed  Roman 
Catholic,  to  the  English  throne  was 
vehemently  disputed,  and  allied  himself 
with  the  party  headed  by  the  Earl  of 
Essex  and  Lord  William  Russell.  He 
preached  with  great  force  against  the 
advocates  of  popery,  and  (in  his  own 
words)  threw  away  his  liberty  with  both 
hands,  and  with  his  eyes  open,  for  his 
country's  service.  Then  he  wrote  his 
book  in  reply  to  a  sermon  by  Dr.  Hickes, 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      137 

who  was  in  favour  of  passive  obedience, 
and  compared  the  future  King  to  the 
Roman  Emperor  surnamed  the  Apostate. 
This  made  a  great  sensation,  which  was 
not  lessened  by  the  report  that  he  had 
indited  a  pamphlet  entitled  Juliati's 
Arts  to  2inderinine  and  extirpate  Chris- 
tianity. Johnson  was  subsequently  con- 
demned to  a  fine  of  one  hundred  marks, 
and  imprisoned.  On  his  release  his 
efforts  did  not  flag.  He  wrote  An 
Mumble  and  Hearty  Address  to  all  the 
Protestants  in  the  Present  Army  at  the 
time  when  the  Stuart  monarch  had 
assembled  a  large  number  of  troops  at 
Hounslow  Heath  in  order  to  overawe 
London.  This  was  the  cause  of  further 
misfortunes  ;  he  was  condemned  to  stand 
in  the  pillory,  to  pay  another  five  hundred 
marks,  to  be  degraded  from  the  ministry, 
and  publicly  whipped  from  Newgate  to 
Tyburn.  When  the  Revolution  came  he 
expected  a  bishopric  as  the  reward  of  his 
sufferings  ;  but  he  was  scarcely  the  man 
for  the  episcopal  bench.  He  refused  the 
Deanery  of  Durham,  and  had  to  content 
himself  with  a  pension  and  a  gift  of 
^1,000. 

All  men  mourn  the  fate  of  Algernon 
Sidney,  who  perished  on  account  of  his 
political  opinions ;  and  his  Discourse  on 


138     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the  Government,  a  manuscript  which  was 
discovered  by  the  authorities  at  his 
house,  furnished  his  enemies  with  a  good 
pretext.  A  corrupt  jury,  presided  over  by 
the  notorious  Jeffreys,  soon  condemned 
poor  headstrong  Sidney  to  death.  He 
was  beheaded  in  1683.  His  early  life, 
his  hatred  of  all  in  authority,  whether 
Charles  I.  or  Cromwell,  his  revolutionary 
instincts,  are  well  known.  A  few  extracts 
from  his  fatal  MS.  will  show  the  author's 
ideas  : — ■"  The  supreme  authority  of  kings 
is  that  of  the  laws,  and  the  people  are  in 
a  state  of  dependence  upon  the  laws." 
"  Liberty  is  the  mother  of  virtues,  and 
slavery  the  mother  of  vices."  "All  free 
peoples  have  the  right  to  assemble 
whenever  and  wherever  they  please." 
"  A  general  rising  of  a  nation  does  not 
deserve  the  name  of  a  revolt.  It  is  the 
people  for  whom  and  by  whom  the 
Sovereign  is  established,  who  have  the 
sole  power  of  judging  whether  he  does,  or 
does  not,  fulfil  his  duties."  In  the  days 
of  "  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings  "  such 
sentiments  could  easily  be  charged  with 
treason. 

Political  authors  in  other  lands  have 
often  shared  the  fate  of  our  own  country- 
men, and  foremost  among  these  was 
Edmund  Richer,  a  learned  doctor  of  the 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     139 

Sorbonne,  Grand  Master  of  the  College  of 
Cardinal  Le  Moine,  and  Syndic  of  the 
University  of  Paris.  He  ranks  among 
unfortunate  authors  on  account  of  his 
work  entitled  De  Ecclesiastica  et  Politica 
potestate  (161 1),  which  aroused  the  anger 
of  the  Pope  and  his  Cardinals,  and 
involved  him  in  many  difficulties.  This 
remarkable  work,  extracted  chiefly  from 
the  writings  of  Gerson,  was  directed 
against  the  universal  temporal  power  of 
the  Pope,  advocated  the  liberties  of  the 
Gallican  Church,  and  furnished  Protestant 
theologians  with  weapons  in  order  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  champions 
of  the  Ultramontane  party.  He  argues 
that  ecclesiastical  authority  belongs  essen- 
tially to  the  whole  Church.  The  Pope 
and  the  bishops  are  its  ministers,  and  form 
the  executive  power  instituted  by  God. 
The  Pope  is  the  ministerial  head  of  the 
Church ;  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
x\bsolute  Chief  and  Supreme  Pastor. 
The  Pope  has  no  power  of  making 
canons ;  that  authority  belongs  to  the 
universal  Church,  and  to  general  councils. 
Richer  was  seized  by  certain  emissaries 
of  a  Catholic  leader  as  he  entered  the 
college  of  the  Cardinal,  and  carried  off 
to  prison,  from  which  he  was  ultimately 
released  on  the  intercession  of  his  friends 


140     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

and  of  the  University.  But  Richer's 
troubles  did  not  end  when  he  regained 
his  freedom.  Having  been  invited  to 
supper  by  Father  Joseph,  a  Capuchin 
monk,  he  went  to  the  house,  not  suspecting 
any  evil  intentions  on  the  part  of  his  host. 
But  when  he  entered  the  room  where  the 
feast  was  prepared  he  found  a  large 
company  of  his  enemies.  The  door  was 
closed  behind  him,  daggers  were  drawn 
by  the  assembled  guests,  and  they  de- 
manded from  him  an  immediate  retracta- 
tion of  all  the  opinions  he  had  advanced 
in  his  work.  The  drawn  daggers  were 
arguments  which  our  unhappy  author  was 
unable  to  resist.  As  a  reward  for  all  his 
labour  and  hard  study  he  was  obliged  to 
live  as  an  exile,  as  he  mournfully  com- 
plained, in  the  midst  of  a  kingdom  whose 
laws  he  strenuously  obeyed,  nor  dared  to 
set  foot  in  the  college  of  which  he  had 
been  so  great  an  ornament.  In  his  latter 
days  Richer's  studies  were  his  only  com- 
fort. His  mind  was  not  fretted  by  any 
ambition,  but  he  died  in  the  year  1633, 
overcome  by  his  grief  on  account  of  his 
unjust  fate,  and  fearful  of  the  powerful 
enemies  his  book  had  raised.  The  age 
of  Richelieu  was  not  a  very  safe  period 
for  any  one  who  had  unhappily  excited  the 
displeasure  of  powerful  foes. 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      141 

A  strange  work  of  a  wild  fanatic,  John 
de  Falkemberg,  entitled  Diatribe  centre 
Ladislas,  Roi  de  Fologne,  was  produced 
at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance in  14 14.  Falkemberg  addressed 
himself  to  all  kings,  princes,  prelates,  and 
all  Christian  people,  promising  them 
eternal  life,  if  they  would  unite  for  the 
purpose  of  exterminating  the  Poles  and 
slaying  their  king.  The  author  was 
condemned  to  imprisonment  at  Con- 
stance on  account  of  his  insane  book.  As 
there  were  no  asylums  for  lunatics  in  those 
days,  perhaps  that  was  the  wisest  course 
his  judges  could  adopt. 

The  hostility  of  the  Pope  to  authors 
who  did  not  agree  with  his  political  views 
has  been  excited  by  many  others,  amongst 
whom  we  may  mention  the  learned  Pietro 
Sarpi,  born  at  Venice  in  1552.  He  joined 
the  order  of  the  Servites,  who  paid 
particular  veneration  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  of  that  order  Sarpi  and  a 
satirical  writer  named  Doni  were  the 
most  distinguished  members.  Sarpi 
adopted  the  name  of  Paul,  and  is  better 
known  by  his  title  Fra  Paolo.  He 
studied  history,  and  wrote  several  works 
in  defence  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  Venetian  Republic  against  the  arrogant 


142     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

assumptions  of  Pope  Paul  V.  The 
Venetians  were  proud  of  their  defender, 
and  made  him  their  consultant  theologian 
and  a  member  of  the  famous  Council  of 
Ten.  But  the  spiritual  weapons  of  the 
Pope  were  levied  against  the  bold  up- 
holder of  Venetian  liberties,  and  he  was 
excommunicated.  His  Histoire  de  I'ln- 
terdit  (Venice,  1606)  exasperated  the 
Papal  party.  One  evening  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  as  Sarpi  was  returning  to  his 
monastery,  he  was  attacked  by  five 
assassins,  and,  pierced  with  many  wounds, 
fell  dead  at  their  feet.  The  authorship  of 
this  crime  it  was  not  hard  to  discover,  as 
the  murderers  betook  themselves  to  the 
house  of  the  Papal  Nuncio,  and  thence 
fled  to  Rome.  In  this  book  Sarpi 
vigorously  exposed  the  unlawfulness  and 
injustice  of  the  power  of  excommunication 
claimed  by  the  Pope,  and  showed  he  had 
no  right  or  authority  to  proscribe  others 
for  the  sake  of  his  own  advantage.  Sarpi 
wrote  also  a  history  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  published  in  London,  16 19.  His 
complete  works  were  published  in  Naples 
in  1790,  in  twenty-four  volumes. 

Another  Venetian  statesman,  Jerome 
Maggi,  very  learned  in  archeeology, 
history,  mathematics,  and  other  sciences, 
hastened  his  death  by  his  writings.     He 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.     143 

was  appointed  by  the  Venetians  a  judge 
of  the  town  of  Famagousta,  in  the  island 
of  Cyprus,  which  was  held  by  the  powerful 
Republic  from  the  year  1489  to  1571. 
After  one  of  the  most  bloody  sieges 
recorded  in  history,  the  Turks  captured 
the  stronghold,  losing  50,000  men.  Maggi 
was  taken  captive  and  conducted  in  chains 
to  Constantinople.  Unfortunately  he 
whiled  away  the  tedious  hours  of  his  cap- 
tivity by  writing  two  books,  De  equiileo 
and  De  tintinnahilis,  remarkable  for  their 
learning,  composed  entirely  without  any 
reference  to  other  works  in  the  squalor 
of  a  Turkish  prison.  He  dedicated  the 
books  to  the  Italian  and  French  ambassa- 
dors to  the  Sublime  Porte,  who  were  much 
pleased  with  them  and  endeavoured  to 
obtain  the  release  of  the  captive.  Their 
efforts  unhappily  brought  about  the  fate 
which  they  were  trying  to  avert.  For 
when  the  affair  became  known,  as  Maggi 
was  being  conducted  to  the  Italian  am- 
bassador, the  captain  of  the  prison  ordered 
him  to  be  brought  back  and  immediately 
strangled  in  the  prison. 

The  unhappy  Jean  Lenoir,  Canon  of 
Seez,  was  doomed  in  1684  to  a  Ufe-long 
servitude  in  the  galleys,  after  making  a 
public  retractation  of  his  errors  in  the 
Church   of  Notre-Dame,  at   Paris.     His 


144     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

impetuous  and  impassioned  eloquence  is 
displayed  in  all  his  writings,  which  were 
collected  and  published  under  the  title 
Recueil  de  Requites  et  de  Factuftis.  The 
titles  of  some  of  his  treatises  will  show 
how  obnoxious  they  were  to  the  ruling 
powers — e.g.,  Heresiede  la  domination  epis- 
copale  que  Ion  etabliten  France,  Protestation 
contre  les  assemblies  du  clerge  de  1681,  etc. 
These  were  the  causes  of  the  severe  per- 
secutions of  which  he  was  the  unhappy 
victim.  He  was  fortunate  enough  to 
obtain  a  slight  alleviation  of  his  terrible 
punishment  by  writing  a  Complainte  latine, 
in  which  he  showed  that  the  author,  al- 
though black  in  name  {le  noir),  was  white  in 
his  virtues  and  his  character.  He  was  re- 
leased from  the  galleys,  and  sent  to  prison 
instead,  being  confined  at  Saint  Malo, 
Brest,  and  Nantes,  where  he  died  in  1692. 
In  times  less  remote,  Simon  Linguet, 
a  French  political  writer  (born  in  1736), 
found  himself  immured  in  the  Bastille  on 
account  of  his  works,  which  gave  great 
offence  to  the  ruling  powers.  His  chief 
books  were  his  Histoire  Impartiale  des 
Jesuites  (1768,  2  vols.,  in-12)  and  his  An- 
nales  Politiques.  After  his  release  he 
wrote  an  account  of  his  imprisonment, 
which  created  a  great  sensation,  and 
aroused  the  popular  indignation  against 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      145 

the  Bastille  which  was  only  appeased  with 
its  destruction.  Linguet's  Annales  Poli- 
tiques  was  subsequently  published  in 
Brussels  in  1787,  for  which  he  was  re- 
warded by  the  Emperor  Joseph  II.  with 
a  present  of  t,ooo  ducats.  Linguet's 
experiences  in  the  Bastille  rendered  him 
a  persona  grata  to  the  revolutionary 
party,  in  which  he  was  an  active  agent ; 
but,  alas  for  the  fickleness  of  the  mob  ! 
he  himself  perished  at  the  hands  of  the 
wretches  whose  madness  he  had  inspired, 
and  was  guillotined  at  Paris  in  1794-  The 
pretext  of  his  condemnation  was  that  he 
had  incensed  by  his  writings  the  despots 
of  Vienna  and  London. 

The  Jesuit  controversy  involved  many 
authors  in  ruin,  amongst  others  Abbe 
Caveirac,  who  wrote  Appel  a  la  Raison 
des  Ecrits  et  Libelles  publics  contre  les 
Jesiiites,  par  Jean  Novi  de  Caveirac 
{Bruxelles,  1762,  2  vols.,  in-12).  This  book 
was  at  once  suppressed,  and  its  author  was 
condemned  to  imprisonment  in  1764,  and 
then  sent  to  the  pillory,  and  afterwards 
doomed  to  perpetual  exile.  He  was 
accused  of  having  written  an  apology  for 
the  slaughter  of  the  Protestants  on  the 
eve  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  but  our  last 
mentioned  author,  Linguet,  endeavours 
to  clear  his  memory  from  that  charge. 


146     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

A  friend  of  Linguet,  Darigrand,  wrote 
a  book  entitled  L Antifinancier,  ou  Releve 
de  quelques-unes  des  malversations  dofit  se 
rendent  journellement  les  Fermiers-Gener- 
aux,  et  des  vexations  quails  commettent  dans 
les  provinces  {Faris,  Lajnbert,  1764,  2  vols., 
in-i  2).  It  was  directed  against  the  abomin- 
able system  of  taxation  in  vogue  in  France, 
which  was  mainly  instrumental  in  pro- 
ducing the  Revolution.  Darigrand  was 
a  lawyer,  and  had  been  employed  in  la 
ferine  generale.  He  knew  all  the  iniqui- 
ties of  that  curious  institution  ;  he  knew 
the  crushing  taxes  which  were  levied,  and 
the  tender  mercies  of  the  "cellar-rats," 
the  gnawing  bailiffs,  who  knew  no  pity. 
Indignant  and  disgusted  by  the  whole 
business,  he  wrote  his  vehement  exposure 
L'Antifinancier.  The  government  wished 
to  close  his  mouth  by  giving  him  a  lucra- 
tive post  under  the  same  profitable  system. 
This  our  author  indignantly  refused  ;  and 
that  method  of  enforcing  silence  having 
failed,  another  more  forcible  one  was 
immediately  adopted.  Darigrand  was 
sent  to  the  Bastille  in  January  1763.  His 
book  is  a  most  forcible  and  complete 
exposure  of  that  horrible  system  of  extor- 
tion, torture,  and  ruination  which  made  a 
reformation  or  a  revolution  inevitable. 

Authors  have  often  been  compelled  to 


Politics  and  Statesmanship.      147 

eat  their  words,  but  the  operation  has 
seldom  been  performed  literally.  In  the 
seventeenth  century,  owing  to  the  disas- 
trous part  which  Christian  IV".  of  Den- 
mark took  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  his 
kingdom  was  shorn  of  its  ancient  power 
and  was  overshadowed  by  the  might  of 
Sweden.  One  Theodore  Reinking,  lament- 
ing the  diminished  glory  of  his  race,  wrote 
a  book  entitled  Dania  ad  exteros  de  per- 
fidia  Siiecorum  (1644).  It  was  not  a  very 
excellent  work,  neither  was  its  author  a 
learned  or  accurate  historian,  but  it  aroused 
the  anger  of  the  Swedes,  who  cast  Rein- 
king  into  prison.  There  he  remained  many 
years,  when  at  length  he  was  offered  his 
freedom  on  the  condition  that  he  should 
either  lose  his  head  or  eat  his  book.  Our 
author  preferred  the  latter  alternative,  and 
with  admirable  cleverness  devoured  his 
book  when  he  had  converted  it  into  a 
sauce.  For  his  own  sake  we  trust  his  work 
was  not  a  ponderous  or  bulky  volume. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


Satire. 


Roger  Rabutin  de  Bussy — M.  Dassy — Trajan 
Boccalini — Pierre  Billard — Pietro  Aretino— 
Felix  Hemmerlin — John  Giovanni  Cinelli 
— Nicholas  Francus — Lorenzo  Valla — Fer- 
rante  Pallavicino — Francois  Gacon — Daniel 
Defoe — Du  Rosoi — Caspar  Scioppius. 

lO  "  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scorner "' 
has  often  proved  a  dangerous 
position,  as  the  writers  of  satires 
and  lampoons  have  found  to 
their  cost,  although  their  sharp  weapons 
have  often  done  good  service  in  check- 
ing the  onward  progress  of  Vice  and 
Folly,  All  authors  have  not  shown  the 
poet's  wisdom  who  declared  : — 

"Satire's  my  weapon,  but  I'm  too  discreet 
To  run  amuck,  and  tilt  at  all  I  meet." 

Nor  have  all  the  victims  of  satire  the 
calmness  and  self-possession  of  the  philo- 
sopher who  said  :  "  If  evil  be  said  of 
thee,  and  it  be  true,  correct  thyself;  if  it 
148 


Satire.  149 

be  a  lie,  laugh  at  it."  It  would  have 
been  well  for  those  who  indulged  in  this 
style  of  writing,  if  all  the  victims  of  their 
pens  had  been  of  the  same  mind  as 
Frederick  the  Great,  who  said  that  time 
and  experience  had  taught  him  to  be  a 
good  post-horse,  going  through  his  ap- 
pointed daily  stage,  and  caring  nothing 
for  the  curs  that  barked  at  him  along  the 
road. 

Foremost  among  the  writers  of  satire 
stands  Count  Roger  Rabutin  de  Bussy, 
whose  mind  was  jocose,  his  wit  keen,  and 
his  sarcasm  severe.  He  was  born  in 
161 8,  and  educated  at  a  college  of  Jesuits, 
where  he  manifested  an  extraordinary 
avidity  for  letters  and  precocious  talents. 
The  glory  of  war  fired  his  early  zeal,  and 
for  sixteen  years  he  followed  the  pursuit 
of  arms.  Then  literature  claimed  him  as 
her  slave.  His  first  book,  Les  amours  du 
Palais  Royal,  excited  the  displeasure  of 
King  Louis  XIV.,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  his  downfall.  In  his  Histoire  amoiir- 
euse  des  Gaules  (Paris,  1665,  i  vol.,  in-12) 
he  satirised  the  lax  manners  of  the  French 
Court  during  the  minority  of  the  King, 
and  had  the  courage  to  narrate  the  in- 
trigue which  Louis  carried  on  with  La 
Valliere.  He  spares  few  of  the  ladies 
of  the  Court,  and  lashes  them  all  with  his 


150     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

satire,  amongst  others  Mesdames  d'Olonne 
and  de  Chatillon.  Unhappily  for  the 
Count,  he  showed  the  book,  when  it  was 
yet  in  MS.,  to  the  Marchioness  de 
Beaume,  his  intimate  friend.  But  the 
best  of  friends  sometimes  quarrel,  and 
unfortunately  the  Count  and  the  good 
lady  quarrelled  while  yet  the  MS.  was  in 
her  possession.  A  grand  opportunity 
for  revenge  thus  presented  itself.  She 
showed  to  the  ladies  of  the  Court  the 
severe  verses  which  the  Count  had  written  ; 
and  his  victims  were  so  enraged  that  they 
carried  their  complaints  to  the  King,  who 
had  already  felt  the  weight  of  the  author's 
blows  in  some  verses  beginning  : — 

"Que  Deodatus  est  heureux 
De  baiser  ce  bee  amoureux, 
Qui,  d'une  oreille  a  I'autre  va. 
Alleluia,"  etc. 

This  aroused  the  anger  of  the  self-willed 
monarch,  who  ordered  the  author  to  be  sent 
to  the  Bastille,  and  then  to  be  banished 
from  the  kingdom  for  ever.  Bussy  passed 
sixteen  years  in  exile,  and  occupied  his 
enforced  leisure  by  writing  his  memoirs, 
Les  memoires  de  Roger  de  Rabutin,  Comte 
de  Bussi  (Paris,  1697),  in  which  he  lauded 
himself  amazingly,  and  a  history  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  abounded  in 


Satire.  1 5 1 

base  flattery  of  the  "Great  Monarch." 
Bussy  earned  the  title  of  the  French 
Petronius,  by  lashing  with  his  satirical 
pen  the  debaucheries  of  Louis  and  his 
Court  after  the  same  manner  in  which 
the  Roman  philosopher  ridiculed  the 
depravity  of  Nero  and  his  satellites.  His 
style  was  always  elegant,  and  his  satire, 
seemingly  so  playful  and  facetious,  stung 
his  victims  and  cut  them  to  the  quick. 
This  was  a  somewhat  dangerous  gift  to 
the  man  who  wielded  the  whip  when  the 
Grand  Monarch  felt  the  lash  twisting 
around  his  royal  person.  Therefore  poor 
Bussy  was  compelled  to  end  his  days  in 
exile. 

A  book  fatal  to  its  author,  M.  Dassy, 
a  Parisian  lawyer,  was  one  which  bore 
the  title  Consultation  pour  le  Baron  et  la 
Baronne  de  Bagge  (Paris,  1777,  in-4). 
It  attacked  M.  Titon  de  Villotran,  coun- 
sellor of  the  Grand  Chamber,  who  caused 
its  author  to  be  arrested.  The  book 
created  some  excitement,  and  contained 
some  severe  criticisms  on  the  magistrates 
and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  as  well 
as  on  the  aggrieved  Villotran.  Parlia- 
ment confirmed  the  order  for  Dassy's 
arrest,  but  he  contrived  to  effect  his 
escape  to  Holland.  He  was  a  rich  man, 
who  did  much  to  relieve  and  assist  the 


152     Books  Fatal  to  their  Atithors. 

poor,  while  he   delighted  to   attack  and 
satirise  the  prosperous  and  the  great. 

The  Italian  satirist  Trajan  Boccalini, 
born  at  Loretto  in  1556,  was  also  one  upon 
whom  Court  favour  shone.  He  was 
surrounded  by  a  host  of  friends  and 
admirers,  and  was  appointed  Governor 
of  the  States  of  the  Church.  He  was 
one  of  the  wittiest  and  most  versatile 
of  authors,  and  would  have  risen  to 
positions  of  greater  dignity,  if  only  his 
pen  had  been  a  httle  less  active  and  his 
satire  less  severe.  He  wrote  a  book 
entitled  Raggtiagli  di  Parnasso  (16 12), 
which  was  most  successful.  In  this  work 
he  represents  Apollo  as  judge  of  Parnassus, 
who  cites  before  him  kings,  authors, 
warriors,  statesmen,  and  other  mighty 
personages,  minutely  examines  their 
faults  and  crimes,  and  passes  judgment 
upon  them.  Inasmuch  as  these  people 
whom  Apollo  condemned  were  his  con- 
temporaries, it  may  be  imagined  that  the 
book  created  no  small  stir,  and  aroused 
the  wrath  of  the  victims  of  his  satire. 
Boccalini  was  compelled  to  leave  Rome 
and  seek  safety  in  Venice.  He  also 
wrote  a  bitter  satire  upon  the  Spanish 
misrule  in  Italy,  entitled  Pietra  del 
paragone  politico  (1615).  In  this  book 
he  showed  that  the   power  of  the  King 


Satire.  153 

of  Spain  in  Italy  was  not  so  great  as  men 
imagined,  and  that  it  would  be  easy  to 
remove  the  Spanish  yoke  from  their 
necks.  In  Venice  he  imagined  himself 
safe  ;  but  his  powerful  foes  hired  assassins 
to  "  remove  "  the  obnoxious  author.  He 
was  seized  one  day  by  four  strong  men, 
cast  upon  a  couch,  and  beaten  to  death 
with  bags  filled  with  sand.  The  elegance 
of  his  style,  his  witticisms  and  fine 
satire,  have  earned  for  Boccalini  the  title 
of  the  Italian  Lucian. 

To  scoff  at  the  powerful  Jesuits  was  not 
always  a  safe  pastime,  as  Pierre  Billard  dis- 
covered, who,  on  account  of  his  work  en- 
titled La  Bete  a  sept  tctes,  was  sent  to  the 
Bastille,  and  subsequently  to  the  prisons 
of  Saint-Lazare  and  Saint- Victor.  The 
Society  objected  to  be  compared  to  the 
Seven-headed  Beast,  and  were  powerful 
enough  to  ruin  their  bold  assailant,  who 
died  at  Charenton  in  1726. 

Another  Italian  satirist,  Pietro  Aretino, 
acquired  great  fame,  but  not  of  a  creditable 
kind.  Born  at  Arezzo  in  1492,  he  followed 
the  trade  of  a  bookbinder  ;  but  not  con- 
fining his  labour  to  the  external  adorn- 
ment of  books,  he  acquired  some  know- 
ledge of  letters.  He  began  his  career 
by  writing  a  satirical  sonnet  against 
indulgences,   and   was   compelled    to   fly 


154     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

from  his  native  place  and  wander  through 
Italy.  At  Rome  he  found  a  temporary 
resting-place,  where  he  was  employed  by 
Popes  Leo  X.  and  Clement  VII.  Then 
he  wrote  sixteen  gross  sonnets  on  the 
sixteen  obscene  pictures  of  Giulio 
Romano,*  which  were  so  intolerable  that 
he  was  again  forced  to  fly  and  seek  an 
asylum  at  Milan  under  the  protection  of 
the  "  black  band "  led  by  the  famous 
Captain  Giovanni  de  Medici.  On  the 
death  of  this  leader  he  repaired  to  Venice, 
where  he  lived  by  his  pen.  He  began 
a  series  of  satires  on  princes  and  leading 
men,  and  earned  the  title  of  flagellum 
principiim.  Aretino  adopted  the  ini- 
quitous plan  of  demanding  gifts  from  those 
he  proposed  to  attack,  in  order  that  by 
these  bribes  they  might  appease  the 
libeller  and  avert  his  onslaught.  Others 
employed  him  to  libel  their  enemies. 
Thus  the  satirist  throve  and  waxed  rich 
and  prosperous.  His  book  entitled 
Capricium    was    a    rude     and     obscene 

*  These  were  published  under  the  title  of 
La  corona  de  i  cazsi,  doe,  sonetti  lussuriosi  del 
Pietro  Aretino.  Stamp,  senza  Ltiogo  ne  anno, 
m-l6.  The  engravings  in  this  edition,  the  work 
of  Marc  Antonio  of  Bolgna,  were  no  less  scan- 
dalous than  the  sonnets,  and  the  engraver  was 
ordered  to  be  arrested  by  Pope  Clement  VII.,  and 
only  escaped  punishment  by  flight. 


Satire.  155 

collection  of  satires  on  great  men.  His 
prolific  pen  poured  forth  Dialogues, 
Sonnets,  Comedies,  and  mingled  with  a 
mass  of  discreditable  and  licentious  works 
we  find  several  books  on  morality  and 
theology.  These  he  wrote,  not  from  any 
sense  of  piety  and  devotion,  but  simply 
for  gain,  while  his  immoral  life  was  a 
strange  contrast  to  his  teaching.  He 
pubhshed  a  Paraphrase  on  the  seven 
Penitential  Psalms  (Venice,  1534),  and 
a  work  entitled  De  hiimanitate  sive  in- 
carnatione  Christi  (Venice,  1535),  calling 
himself  Aretino  the  divine,  and  by  favour 
of  Pope  Julius  III.  he  nearly  obtained 
a  Cardinal's  hat.  Concerning  his  Para- 
phrase a  French  poet  wrote : — 

•'  Si  ce  livre  unit  le  destin 
De  David  et  de  I'Aretin, 
Dans  leur  merveilleuse  science, 
Lecteur  n'en  sois  pas  empeche 
Qui  paraphrase  le  peche 
Paraphrase  la  penitence." 

Utterly  venal  and  unscrupulous,  we  find 
him  at  one  time  enjoying  the  patronage 
of  Francis  I.  of  France,  and  then  abusing 
that  monarch  and  basking  in  the  favour 
of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  who  paid  him 
more  lavishly.  His  death  took  place  at 
Venice  in  1557.  Some  say  that  he,  the 
flagelluju  of  princes,  was  beaten  to  death 


156     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

by  command  of  the  princes  of  Italy ; 
others  narrate  that  he  who  laughed  at 
others  all  his  life  died  through  laughter. 
His  risible  faculties  being  on  one  occasion 
so  violently  excited  by  certain  obscene 
jests,  he  fell  from  his  seat,  and  struck 
his  head  with  such  violence  against  the 
ground  that  he  died. 

The  town  of  Zurich  was  startled  in  the 
fifteenth  century  by  finding  itself  the 
object  of  the  keen  satire  of  one  of  its 
canons,  Felix  Hemmerlin,  who  wrote  a 
book  entitled  Clarissimi  viri  jurunique 
Doctoris  Felicis  Malleoli  Hemmerli^ii  varice 
oblectationis  Opuscula  et  Tradatus  {Basilea;, 
1494,  folio).  The  clergy,  both  regular 
and  secular,  were  also  subjected  to  his 
criticism.  The  book  is  divided  into  two 
parts  ;  the  first  is  a  dialogue  de  Nobilitate 
et  Rusticitate,  and  the  second  is  a  treatise 
against  the  mendicant  friars,  monks, 
Beghards,  and  Beguines.  The  town  of 
Ziirich  was  very  indignant  at  this  bold 
attack,  and  deprived  the  poor  author  of 
his  benefices  and  of  his  liberty. 

Italian  air  seems  to  have  favoured 
satire,  but  Italian  susceptibility  was 
somewhat  fatal  to  the  satirists.  Giovanni 
Cinelli,  born  in  1625,  taught  medicine 
at  Florence  and  was  illustrious  for  his 
literary  productions.     He   allied  himself 


Satire.  157 

with  Antonio  Magliabecchi,  who  afforded 
him  opportunities  of  research  in  the 
library  of  the  Grand  Duke.  He  began 
the  great  work  entitled  Bibliotheca  volans^ 
the  fourth  section  of  which  brought 
grievous  trouble  upon  its  author.  It  was 
all  caused  by  an  unfortunate  note  which 
attacked  the  doctor  of  the  Grand  Duke. 
This  doctor  was  highly  indignant,  and  re- 
ported Cinelli  to  the  Tribunal.  The  book 
was  publicly  burnt  by  the  hangman,  and 
Cinelli  was  confined  in  prison  ninety- 
three  days  and  then  driven  into  exile. 
His  misfortunes  roused  his  anger,  and  he 
published  at  his  retreat  at  Venice  a  bitter 
satire  on  men  of  all  ranks  entitled 
Giusticazione  di  Giovanni  Cinelli  {i6d>^), 
exciting  much  hostility  against  him.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy  years  in  the 
Castle  of  San  Lorenzo,  a.d.  1705,  and  his 
Bibliotheca  volans  was  continued  and 
completed  by  Sancassani  under  the  ficti- 
tious name  of  Philoponis. 

Nicholas  Francus,  an  Italian  poet  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  was  a  graceful 
writer  and  very  skilled  in  the  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Etruscan  languages,  but  incurred  a 
grievous  fate  on  account  of  his  severe 
satire  on  Pope  Pius  IV.  The  stern 
persecutor  of  Carranza,  the  powerful 
Archbishop  of  Toledo,  was  not  a  person 


158     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

to  be  attacked  with  impunity.  The  cause 
of  the  poet's  resentment  against  the  Pope 
was  the  prohibition  of  a  certain  work, 
entitled  Friapeia,  which  Francus  had  com- 
menced, describing  the  feasts  of  Priapus. 
Pius  IV.  refused  to  allow  the  poet  to 
complete  his  book,  and  ordered  that  which 
he  had  already  written  to  be  burned. 
This  was  too  much  for  the  equanimity  of 
the  poet,  whose  eye  was  with  fine  frenzy 
rolling,  and  he  began  to  assail  the  Pope 
with  all  manner  of  abuse.  For  some 
time  the  punishment  for  his  rash  writing 
was  postponed,  on  account  of  the  pro- 
tection of  a  powerful  Cardinal;  but  on 
the  death  of  Pius  IV.  Francus  sharpened 
his  pen  afresh,  and  sorely  wounded  the 
memory  of  his  deceased  foe.  In  one  of 
his  satires  the  words  of  St.  John's  Gospel, 
verbuvi  caro  factum  est,  were  inserted ; 
and  the  charge  of  profanity  was  brought 
against  him.  At  length  Pius  V.  con- 
demned him  to  death.  Some  historians 
narrate  that  the  poor  poet  was  hung  on 
a  beam  attached  to  the  famous  statue  of 
the  Gladiator  in  front  of  the  Palace  of  the 
Orsini,  called  the  Pasquin,  to  which  the 
deriders  and  enemies  of  the  Pope  were 
accustomed  to  affix  their  epigrams  and 
pamphlets.  These  were  called  Pasquin- 
ades, from   the  curious  method   adopted 


Satire.  159 

for  their  publication.  Others  declare 
that  he  suffered  punishment  in  a  funereal 
chamber  draped  with  black ;  while  another 
authority  declares  that  the  poet,  the  victim 
of  his  own  satires,  was  hung  on  a  fork- 
shaped  gibbet,  not  on  account  of  his  abuse 
of  Pius  IV.,  but  through  the  hatred  of 
Pius  v.,  which  some  personal  quarrel  had 
excited.  This  conjecture  is,  however, 
probably  false. 

Francus  was  a  true  poet,  endo\yed  with 
a  vivid  imagination  and  with  a  delicate  and 
subtle  wit.  He  scorned  the  coarse  invec- 
tive in  which  the  satirists  of  his  day  used 
to  delight.  He  had  many  enemies  on 
account  of  his  plain-spoken  words  and 
keen  criticisms.  The  problem  which  per- 
plexed the  Patriarch  Job — the  happiness 
of  prosperous  vice,  the  misery  of  persecuted 
virtue — tormented  his  mind  and  called 
forth  his  embittered  words.  He  inveighed 
against  the  reprobates  and  fools,  the 
crowds  of  monsignors  who  were  as  vain 
of  their  effeminacy  as  the  Scipios  of  their 
deeds  of  valour ;  he  combated  abuses, 
and  with  indignant  pen  heaped  scorn 
upon  the  fashionable  vices  of  the  age. 
The  Pope  and  his  Cardinals,  stung  by  his 
shafts  of  satire,  cruelly  avenged  themselves 
upon  the  unhappy  poet,  and,  as  we  have 
said,  doomed  him  to  death  in  the  year 


i6o     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

1569.  His  Dialogues  were  printed  in 
Venice  by  Zuliani  in  1593,  under  the 
title  Dialoghi  piacevolissifnt  di  Nicolo 
Franco  da  Benevento;  and  there  is  a  French 
translation,  made  by  Gabriel  Chapins, 
published  at  Lyons  in  1579,  entitled  Dix 
plaisans  Dialogues  du  sieur  Nicolo  Franco. 
Lorenzo  Valla,  born  at  Rome  in  1406, 
was  one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of 
his  age,  and  contributed  more  than  any 
other  man  to  the  revival  of  the  love  of 
Latin  literature  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
His  works  are  voluminous.  He  translated 
\x\\.o\.?iim.  Herodotus  (Paris,  15 10),  Thucy- 
dides  (Lyons,  1543),  The  Iliad  (Venice, 
1502),  Fables  of  ^sop  (Venice,  1519); 
and  wrote  Elegantice  Sermonis  Latifti,  a 
history  of  Ferdinand  Aragon  (Paris,  152 1), 
and  many  other  works,  which  are  the 
monuments  of  his  learning  and  industry. 
But  Valla  raised  against  him  many  enemies 
by  the  severity  of  his  satire  on  almost  all 
the  learned  men  of  his  time.  He  spared 
no  one,  and  least  of  all  the  clerics,  who 
sought  his  destruction.  A  friend  advised 
him  that,  unless  he  was  weary  of  life,  he 
ought  to  avoid  heaping  his  satirical  abuse 
on  the  Roman  priests  and  bishops.  He 
published  a  work  on  the  pretended  Dona- 
tion of  Constantine  to  the  Papal  See,  and 
for  this  and  other   writings   pronounced 


Satire.  i6i 

heretical  by  the  Inquisition  he  was  cast 
into  prison,  and  would  have  suffered  death 
by  fire  had  not  his  powerful  friend  Al- 
phonso  v.,  King  of  Aragon,  rescued  him 
from  the  merciless  Holy  Office.  Valla  was 
compelled  publicly  to  renounce  his  hereti- 
cal opinions,  and  then,  within  the  walls 
of  a  monastery,  his  hands  having  been 
bound,  he  was  beaten  with  rods.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  Valla 
further.  He  was  engaged  in  a  long  con- 
troversy with  the  learned  men  of  his  time, 
especially  with  the  facetious  Poggio,  whose 
wit  was  keener  though  his  language  was 
not  so  forcible.  Erasmus  in  his  Second 
Epistle  defends  Valla  in  his  attacks  upon 
the  clergy,  and  asks,  "  Did  he  speak  falsely, 
because  he  spoke  the  truth  too  severely  ?  " 
Valla  died  at  Naples  in  1465.  The  follow- 
ing epigram  testifies  to  the  correctness  of 
his  Latinity  and  the  severity  of  his  criti- 
cisms : — 

Ntinc postqiiam  manes  defnnctiis  Valla  petivit, 
Noil  audei  Pluto  verba  latina  loqiii. 

Jupiter  liunc  coeli  dignatus  honorc  fuisset, 
Censorem  lingucz  sed  timet  esse  suce. 

Raphael  Maffei,  surnamed  Volaterranus, 
the  compiler  of  the  Commentarii  tirbani 
(1506),  a  huge  encyclop;:edia  published 
in     thirty-eight     books,     composed     the 


1 62     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

following  witty  stanza   on   the    death    of 
Valla  :— 

Tandem  Valla  silet  solitus  qui parcere  nulli  est 
Si  quceris    quid    agat  ?    nunc   qtioque    mordct 
humnni. 

Our  list  of  Italian  satirists  closes  with 
Ferrante  Pallavicino,  a  witty  Canon,  born 
at  Plaisance  in  1618,  who  ventured  to 
write  satirical  poems  on  the  famous  nepo- 
tist, Pope  Urban  VIII.,  and  all  his  family, 
the  Barberini.  Some  of  his  poems  were 
entitled  //  corriero  sualigiato,  II  divortio 
celeste.  La  baccinata,  which  were  published 
in  a  collection  of  his  complete  works  at 
Venice  in  1655.  His  selected  works 
were  published  at  Geneva  in  1660.  He 
made  a  playful  allusion  to  the  Barberini 
on  the  title-page  of  his  work,  where  there 
appeared  a  crucifix  surrounded  by  burning 
thorns  and  bees,  with  the  verse  of  the 
Psalmist  Circumdederunt  me  sicut  apes,  et 
exarserunt  sicut  ignis  in  spinis,  alluding 
to  the  bees  which  that  family  bear  on 
their  arms.  Pallavicino  lived  in  safety 
for  some  time  at  Venice,  braving  the 
anger  of  his  enemies.  Unfortunately  he 
wished  to  retire  to  France,  and  during  his 
journey  passed  through  the  territory  of 
the  Pope.  He  was  accompanied  by  a 
Frenchman,    one    Charles    Morfu,    who 


Satire.  163 

pretended  great  friendship  for  him, 
admired  his  works,  and  scoffed  at  the 
Barberini  with  jests  as  keen  as  the 
Canon's  own  satires.  But  the  Frenchman 
betrayed  him  to  his  foes,  and  poor 
Pallavicino  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
rashness  by  a  cruel  death  in  the  Papal 
Palace  at  Avignon  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-nine  years.  His  strictures  on 
Urban  and  his  family  were  well  deserved. 
The  Pope  heaped  riches  and  favours  on 
his  relations.  He  made  three  of  his 
nephews  cardinals,  and  the  fourth  was 
appointed  General  of  the  Papal  troops. 
So  odious  did  the  family  make  themselves 
by  their  exactions  that  on  the  death  of 
Urban  they  were  forced  to  leave  Rome 
and  take  refuge  in  France.  Pallavicino 
had  certainly  fitting  subjects  for  his 
satirical  verses. 

Francois  Gacon,  a  French  poet  and 
satirist  of  the  eighteenth  century,  suffered 
imprisonment  on  account  of  his  poems, 
entitled  Le  Poete  sans  fard,  ou  Discours 
satyriques  sur  toiites  sortes  de  sujets  (Paris, 
2  vols.,  in- 1 2).  His  satire  was  very  biting 
and  not  a  little  scurrilous,  and  was 
famous  for  the  quantity  rather  than  the 
quality  of  his  poetical  effusions.  We  give 
the  following  example  of  his  skill,  in 
which  he  discourses  upon  the   different 


164     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

effects  which  age  produces  on  wine  and 
women : — 

"  Une  beaute,  quand  elle  avance  en  age, 
A  ses  amans  inspire  du  degout ; 
Mais,  pour  le  vin,  il  a  cet  avantage, 
Plus  il  vieillit,  plus  il  flatte  Ic  gout." 

The  literary  world  of  Paris  in  1708 
was  very  much  disturbed  by  certain 
satirical  verses  which  seemed  to  come 
from  an  unknown  hand  and  empty  cafes 
as  if  with  the  magic  of  a  bomb.  The 
Cafe  de  la  Laurent  was  the  famous  resort 
of  the  writers  of  the  time,  where  Rousseau 
and  Lamothe  reigned  as  chiefs  of  the 
literary  Parnassus  amid  a  throng  of 
poets,  politicians,  and  wits.  Some  mal- 
content poet  thought  fit  to  disturb  the 
harmony  of  this  brilliant  company  by 
publishing  some  very  satirical  couplets 
directed  against  the  frequenters  of  the 
cafe.  This  so  enraged  the  company 
that  they  deserted  the  unfortunate  cai€, 
and  selected  another  for  their  rendezvous. 
But  other  verses,  still  more  severe, 
followed  them.  Jean  Baptist  Rousseau 
was  suspected  as  their  author ;  he  denied 
the  supposition  and  accused  Saurin  ;  but 
Rousseau  was  found  to  be  guilty  and  was 
banished  from  the  kingdom  for  ever,  as 
the  author  and  distributer  of  "certain 
impure  and  satirical  verses." 


Satire.  165 

Amongst  satirical  writers  who  have 
suffered  hard  fates  we  must  mention  the 
illustrious  author  of  Robinson  Crusoe, 
Daniel  Defoe.  A  strong  partisan  of  the 
Nonconformist  cause  during  the  con- 
troversial struggle  between  Church  and 
Dissent  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne, 
he  published  a  pamphlet  entitled  The 
Shortest  Way  with  the  Dissenters  (1702), 
in  which  he  ironically  advised  their  entire 
extermination.  This  pleased  certain  of 
the  Church  Party  who  had  not  learned 
the  duty  of  charity  towards  the  opinions 
of  others,  nor  the  advantages  of  Religious 
Liberty.  Nor  were  they  singular  in  this 
respect,  as  the  Dissenting  Party  had 
plainly  shown  when  the  power  was  in 
their  hands.  Happily  wiser  counsels 
prevail  now.  When  Defoe's  jest  was 
discovered,  and  his  opponents  found  that 
the  book  was  "  writ  sarcastic,"  they  caused 
the  unhappy  author  to  be  severely  pun- 
ished. Parliament  condemned  his  book 
to  the  flames,  and  its  author  to  the  pillory 
and  to  prison.  On  his  release  he  wrote 
other  political  pamphlets,  which  involved 
him  in  new  troubles  ;  and,  disgusted 
with  politics,  he  turned  his  versatile 
talents  to  other  literary  work,  and  pro- 
duced his  immortal  book  Robinson 
Crusoe,  which   has    been  translated  into 


1 66     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

all  languages,  and  is  known  and  read  by 
every  one. 

Young's  Night  Thoughts  might  not  be 
considered  a  suitable  form  of  poem  for 
parody,  but  this  M.  Durosoi,  or  Du  Rosoi, 
accomplished  in  his  Les  Jours  d'Ariste 
(1770),  and  was  sent  to  the  Bastille  for  his 
pains.  The  cause  of  his  condemnation 
was  that  he  had  published  this  work 
without  permission,  and  also  perhaps  on 
account  of  certain  political  allusions  con- 
tained in  his  second  work,  Le  Nouvel  Ami 
des  Hommes,  published  in  the  same  year. 
But  a  worse  fate  awaited  Du  Rosoi  on 
account  of  his  writings.  In  the  dangerous 
years  of  1791  and  1792  he  edited  La 
Gazette  de  Paris,  which  procured  greater 
celebrity  for  him,  and  brought  about  his 
death.  When  the  fatal  tenth  of  August 
came,  the  Editor  was  not  to  be  found  in 
Paris.  However,  ultimately  he  was  secured 
and  condemned  to  death  by  the  tribunal 
extraordinary  appointed  by  the  Legislative 
Assembly  to  judge  the  enemies  of  the  new 
government.  He  died  with  great  bravery 
at  the  hands  of  the  revolutionary  assassins, 
after  telling  his  judges  that  as  a  friend  of 
the  King  he  was  accounted  worthy  to  die 
on  that  day,  the  Feast  of  Saint  Louis. 

All  the  venom  of  satirical  writers  seems 
to   have   been   collected  by  that  strange 


Satire.  167 

author  Caspar  Scioppius,  who  had  such 
a  singular  lust  for  powerful  invective  that 
he  cared  not  whom  he  attacked,  and  made 
himself  abhorred  by  all.  This  Attila  of 
authors  was  born  in  Germany  in  1576, 
went  to  Rome,  abjured  Protestantism, 
and  was  raised  to  high  honours  by  Pope 
Clement  VIII.  In  return  for  these  favours 
he  wrote  several  treatises  in  support  of  the 
Papal  claims,  amongst  others  Ecclesiasticus, 
which  was  directed  against  James  I.  of 
England.  Concerning  this  book  Casaubon 
wrote  in  his  Epistle  CLV.  :  "  Know  con- 
cerning Scioppius  that  some  of  his  works 
have  been  burned  not  only  here  at  London 
by  the  command  of  our  most  wise  King, 
but  also  at  Paris  by  the  hand  of  the 
hangsman.  I  have  written  a  letter,  which 
I  will  send  to  you,  if  I  am  able,  against 
that  beast."  He  poured  the  vials  of  his 
wrath  upon  the  Jesuits,  declaring  in  his 
Relatio  adreges  et prhicipes  de  stratagemati- 
bus  Societatis  Jesu  (1635)  that  there  was  no 
truth  to  be  found  in  Italy,  and  that  this 
was  owing  entirely  to  the  Jesuits,  who 
"  keep  back  the  truth  in  injustice,  who, 
rejecting  the  cup  of  Christ,  drink  the  cup 
of  devils  full  of  all  abominations."  This 
roused  their  wrath,  and  by  their  designs 
our  author  was  imprisoned  at  Venice. 
There  he  would  have  been  slain,  if  he 


1 68     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

had  not  enjoyed  the  protection  of  a 
powerful  Venetian.  He  boasted  that  his 
writings  had  had  such  an  effect  on  two 
of  his  Hterary  opponents,  Casaubon  and 
Scaliger,  as  to  cause  them  to  die  from 
vexation  and  disappointment.  He  made 
himself  so  many  powerful  enemies  that 
towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  knew  not 
where  to  find  a  secure  retreat.  This 
"  public  pest  of  letters  and  society,"  as 
the  Jesuits  delighted  to  call  him,  died  at 
Padua  in  1649  hated  by  all,  both  Catholics 
and  Protestants.  He  wrote  one  hundred 
and  four  works,  of  which  the  most  admired 
is  his  Elementa  philosophic  moralis  stoicce 
(Mayence,  1606). 


CHAPTER    YIII. 


POETRy. 


Adrian  Beverland — Cecco  d'Ascoli — George 
Buchanan — Nicodemus  Frischlin — Clement 
Marot — Caspar  Weiser — John  Williams — 
Deforges — Theopliile — Helot — Matteo  Pal- 
mieri — La  Grange — Pierre  Petit — Voltaire 
— Montgomery — Keats — Joseph  Ritson . 

HE  haunters  of  Parnassus  and  the 
wearers  of  the  laurel  crown  have 
usually  been  loved  by  their 
fellows,  save  only  when  satire 
has  mingled  with  their  song  and  filled 
their  victims'  minds  with  thoughts  of 
vengeance.  In  the  last  chapter  we  have 
noticed  some  examples  of  satirical  writers 
who  have  clothed  their  libellous  thoughts 
in  verse,  and  suffered  in  consequence. 
But  the  woes  of  poets,  caused  by  those 
who  listened  to  their  song,  have  not  been 
numerous.  Shakespeare  classes  together 
"  the  lunatic,  the  lover,  and  the  poet " 
as  being  "  of  imagination  all  compact  "  ; 
and  perchance  the  poet  has  shared  with 
169 


170     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the  madman  the  reverence  which  in  some 
countries  is  bestowed  on  the  latter. 

However,  all  have  not  so  escaped  the 
destinies  of  fate.  Some  think  that  Ovid 
incurred  the  wrath  of  Augustus  Caesar 
through  his  verses  on  the  art  of  loving, 
and  was  on  that  account  driven  into  exile, 
which  he  mourned  so  melodiously  and 
complained  of  so  querulously.  In  a 
period  less  remote  we  find  Adrian 
Beverland  wandering  away  from  the  true 
realm  of  poetry  and  taking  up  his  abode 
in  the  pesthouse  of  immorality.  He  was 
born  at  Middlebourg  in  1653,  and  studied 
letters  at  the  University  of  Leyden.  He 
began  his  career  by  publishing  indecent 
poems.  He  wrote  a  very  iniquitous  book, 
De  Peccato  origlnali,  in  which  he  gave  a 
very  base  explanation  of  the  sin  of  our 
first  parents ;  and  although  considerable 
licence  was  allowed  to  authors  in  the 
Netherlands  at  that  time,  nevertheless 
the  magistrates  and  professors  of  Leyden 
condemned  the  book  to  be  burned  and 
its  author  to  banishment.  The  full  title 
of  the  work  is  Hadriani  Beverlandi 
peccatum  originale  philogicc  elucubratuni, 
a  Themidis  alumno.  Eleutheropoli^  in 
horto  liesperidum,  typis  Adami,  JEvce, 
Terrce  filii  (1678,  in-8).  He  seems  to 
have   followed   Henri  Cornelius   Agrippa 


Poetry.  1 7 1 

in  his  idea  that  the  sin  of  our  first 
parents  arose  from  sexual  desire. 
Leonard  Ryssenius  refuted  the  work  in 
his  Justa  detestatio  libelli  sceleratissimi 
Hadriani  Beverlandi,  de  Peccato  originali 
(1680).  He  would  doubtless  have  incurred 
a  harder  fate  on  account  of  another 
immoral  work,  entitled  De  prostibulis 
veterum,  if  one  of  his  relations  had  not 
charitably  committed  it  to  the  flames. 
Before  the  sentence  of  banishment  had 
been  pronounced  he  wrote  an  apology, 
professed  penitence,  and  was  allowed  to 
remain  at  Utrecht,  where  he  composed 
several  pamphlets.  Being  exiled  on 
account  of  the  indecency  of  his  writings, 
he  came  to  England,  where  he  affected 
decorum,  and  his  friend  and  countryman 
Isaac  Vossius,  who  enjoyed  the  patronage 
of  Charles  II.  and  was  Canon  of  Windsor, 
obtained  for  him  a  pension  charged  upon 
some  ecclesiastical  fund.  Never  were 
ecclesiastical  funds  applied  to  a  baser 
use  ;  for  although  Beverland  wrote  another 
book*  with  the  apparent  intention  of 
warning  against  vice,  the  argument  seemed 
to  inculcate  the  lusts  which  he  condemned. 
Having  become  insane  he  died,  in  extreme 
poverty,  in   1712.     He  imagined  that  he 

*  De  fornicatione  cavendd  admonitio  {Londini, 
Bateman,  1697,  in-8). 


172     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

was  pursued  by  a  hundred  men  who  had 
sworn  to  kill  him. 

An  early  poet  who  suffered  death  on 
account  of  his  writings  was  Cecco  d'Ascoli, 
Professor  of  Astrology  at  the  famous  Uni- 
versity of  Bologna  in  1322.  His  poems 
have  been  collected  and  published  under 
the  title  Opere  Poetiche  del'  illustro  poeta 
Cecco  d'Ascoli,  cioe,  lacerba.  In  Venetia, 
per  Philippiim  Petri  et  Socios,  anno  1478, 
in-4.  The  printer  of  this  work,  Philippus 
Condam  Petri  (Philippo  de  Piero  Veneto) 
is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  famous  of 
Venetian  printers,  and  produced  several 
of  the  incunabula  which  we  now  prize  so 
highly.  The  absurdities  of  Cecco  con- 
tained in  his  poems  merited  for  their 
author  a  place  in  a  lunatic  asylum,  rather 
than  on  a  funeral  pile.  He  was,  however, 
burnt  alive  at  Bologna  in  1327.  He 
believed  in  the  influence  of  evil  spirits, 
who,  under  certain  constellations,  had 
power  over  the  affairs  of  men ;  that  our 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  was  born  under  a 
certain  constellation  which  obliged  Him 
to  poverty ;  whereas  Antichrist  would 
come  into  the  world  under  a  certain 
planet  which  would  make  him  enormously 
wealthy.  He  continued  to  proclaim  these 
amazing  delusions  at  Bologna,  and  was 
condemned    by    the    Inquisition.      The 


Poetry.  173 

poet  escaped  punishment  by  submission 
and  repentance.  But  two  years  later  he 
announced  to  the  Duke  of  Calabria,  who 
asked  him  to  cast  the  horoscope  of  his 
wife  and  daughter,  that  they  would  betake 
themselves  to  an  infamous  course  of  life. 
This  prophecy  was  too  much  for  the 
Duke.  Cecco  was  again  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  Inquisitors,  who  con- 
demned him  to  the  stake.  At  his 
execution  a  large  crowd  assembled  to  see 
whether  his  familiar  genii  would  arrest 
the  progress  of  the  flames.  The  poet's 
real  name  was  Francois  de  Stabili,  Cecco 
being  a  diminutive  form  of  Francesco. 
There  are  many  editions  of  his  work. 
The  "  lunatic  "  and  the  "  poet  "  were 
certainly  in  his  case  not  far  removed. 

A  very  different  man  was  the  illustrious 
author  and  historian  of  Scotland,  George 
Buchanan,  who  was  born  in  1506.  After 
studying  in  Paris,  he  returned  to  Scotland, 
and  became  tutor  of  the  Earl  of  Murray, 
the  natural  son  of  James  V.  The 
Franciscan  monks  were  not  very  popular 
at  this  period,  and  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  King  Buchanan  wrote  a  satirical  poem 
entitled  Silva  Franciscanoruin,  in  which 
he  censured  the  degenerate  followers  of 
St.  Francis,  and  harassed  them  in  many 
ways.     This  poem  so  enraged  the  monks 


174     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

that  they  seized  him  and  imprisoned  him 
in  one  of  their  monasteries.     One  night, 
while  his  guards   slept,   he   contrived   to 
escape  by  a  window,  and  underwent  great 
perils.      He  published  two  other  severe 
satirical   poems    on   the  Franciscans,  en- 
titled Fratres  Fraterritni  ax\d  FmJiciscanus. 
It    is    scarcely   necessary   to    follow    his 
fortunes    further,    as    Buchanan's   history 
is  well  known.     After  teaching  at  Paris, 
Bordeaux,  and   at  Coimbre  in  Portugal, 
he  returned  to  Scotland,  and  was  entrusted 
by  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  with  the  educa- 
tion of  her  son.    Buchanan  then  embraced 
Protestantism,  opposed  the  Queen  in  the 
troubles    which    followed,   and    received 
from  Parliament  the  charge  of  the  future 
Solomon   of    the   North,   James    VI.    of 
Scotland  and  I.  of  England.     He  devoted 
his    later   life   to   historical   studies,    and 
produced  his  famous  History  of  Scotland 
in  twelve  books,  De  Maria  Regina  ejusque 
conspiratiotie,   in   which   he  attacked   the 
reputation   of  the   Queen,   and   De  jure 
regni  apiid  Scotos,  a  book  remarkable  for 
the  liberalism   of  the  ideas  which   were 
therein  expressed.      His  royal  pupil  did 
not   treat  Buchanan's    History  with   due 
respect ;    he  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed 
at  the  Merkat  Cross,  and  ordered  every 
one  to  bring  his  copy   "  to  be  perused 


Poetry.  175 

and  purged  of  the  offensive  and  extra- 
ordinary matters."  In  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  the  University  of  Oxford 
ordered  Buchanan's  Dejure  regni,  together 
with  certain  other  works,  to  be  publicly 
burnt  on  account  of  certain  obnoxious 
propositions  deducible  from  them  ;  such 
as  "  Wicked  kings  and  tyrants  ought  to 
be  put  to  death."  He  published  a 
paraphrase  of  the  Psalms  of  David  in 
verse,  which  has  been  much  praised.  The 
Jesuits  were  not  very  friendly  critics 
of  our  author,  for  they  asserted  that 
Buchanan  showed  in  his  life  little  of 
the  piety  of  David,  and  stated  that  during 
thirty  years  he  did  not  deliver  a  single 
sermon,  even  on  Sundays.  "  But  who 
is  ignorant,"  observes  M.  Klotz,  "of  the 
lust  of  these  men  for  calumny  ?  " 

Another  poet  had  occasion  to  adopt 
the  same  mode  of  escape  which  Buchanan 
successfully  accomplished,  but  with  less 
happy  results.  This  was  Nicodemus 
Frischlin,  a  German  poet  and  philosopher, 
born  in  the  duchy  of  Wiirtemberg  in  1547. 
At  an  early  age  he  showed  great  talents  : 
honours  clustered  thickly  on  his  brow. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  made 
Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  at  Tubingen  ; 
he  received  from  the  Emperor  Rudolph 
the  poetic  crown  with  the  title  of  chevalier^ 


176     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

and  was  made  Count  Palatin  as  a  reward 
for  his  three  panegyrics  composed  in 
honour  of  the  emperors  of  the  House  of 
Austria.  Certainly  Fortune  smiled  upon 
her  favourite,  but  Envy  raised  up  many 
enemies,  who  were  eager  to  find  occasion 
against  the  successful  poet.  He  afforded 
them  a  pretext  in  his  work  De  laudibus 
vitcB  rusticce,  which,  in  spite  of  its  innocent 
title,  grievously  offended  the  nobles,  who 
were  already  embittered  against  him  on 
account  of  his  arrogance  and  turbulence, 
and  his  keen  and  unsparing  satire.  So 
bitter  was  their  hostility  that  the  poet  was 
compelled  to  leave  Tubingen,  and  became 
a  wandering  philosopher,  sometimes  teach- 
ing in  schools,  always  pouring  forth  poems, 
elegies,  satires,  tragedies,  comedies,  and 
epics.  Being  eager  to  publish  some  of  his 
works  and  not  having  sufficient  means, 
he  applied  to  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg 
for  a  subsidy,  at  the  same  time  furiously 
attacking  his  old  opponents.  This  so 
exasperated  the  chief  men  of  the  Court, 
that  they  persuaded  the  Duke  to  recall 
Frischlin  ;  but  instead  of  finding  a  welcome 
from  his  old  patron,  he  was  cast  into 
prison,  in  order  that  he  might  unlearn 
his  presumption,  and  acquire  the  useful 
knowledge  that  modesty  is  the  chief  orna- 
ment of  a  learned  man.     But   Frischlin 


Poetry.  i  'j'j 

did  not  agree  with  another  poet's  asser- 
tion : — 

"Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make, 
Nor  iron  bars  a  cage." 

Having  raged  and  stormed,  and  tried  in 
vain  to  obtain  release,  he  resolved  to 
escape.  From  his  prison  window  he  let 
himself  down  by  a  rope  made  out  of  his 
bed-clothes,  but  unfortunately  the  rope 
broke  and  the  poor  poet  fell  upon  the 
hard  rocks  beneath  his  chamber  window 
and  was  injured  fatally.  Frischlin  was 
considered  one  of  the  best  Latin  poets  of 
post-classical  times  ;  but  his  genius  was 
marred  by  his  immoderate  and  bitter 
temper,  which  caused  him  to  imagine  that 
the  gentle  banter  and  jocular  remarks  of 
his  acquaintances  were  insults  to  be  re- 
paid by  angry  invective  and  bitter  sarcasm, 
with  which  his  writings  abound. 

Clement  Marot  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  early  French  poets,  and  the 
creator  of  the  school  of  naive  poetry  in 
which  La  Fontaine  afterwards  so  remark- 
ably excelled.  His  poetical  version  of  the 
Psalms  was  read  and  sung  in  many  lands  ; 
and  in  spite  of  prohibition  copies  could 
not  be  printed  so  fast  as  they  were  eagerly 
bought.  They  were  at  one  time  as  popu- 
lar in  the  Court  of  Henry  H.  of  France 
as   they  were  amongst  the  Calvinists  of 


178     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Geneva  and  Holland.     In  1521  we  find 
him   fighting  in  the  Duke  of  Alengon's 
army,  when  he  was  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Pavia.     Then  his  verses  caused  their 
author  suffering,  and  he  was  imprisoned 
on  the  charge  of  holding  heretical  opinions. 
His  epistles  in  poetry  written  to  the  King 
contain  a   record  of  his  life,   his  fear  of 
imprisonment,  his  flight,  his  arrest  by  his 
enemies  of  the  Sorbonne,  his  release  by 
order  of  the  King,  and  his  protestations  of 
orthodoxy.     But  he  seems  to  have  adopted 
the   principles   of  the  Reformation,   and 
France   was  no  safe    place  for  him.     In 
Geneva  and  Piedmont  he  found  resting- 
places,  and  died  in  1544.     His  translation 
of    the    Psalms    into    harmonious    verst, 
which  was  sung  both  by  the  peasants  and 
the  learned,  was  the  cause  of  his  persecu- 
tion by  the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne.     He 
complains   bitterly  to  the  Lyons  printer, 
Dolet,  that  many  obscene  and  unworthy 
poems  were  ascribed  to  him  and  printed 
amongst  his  works  of  which  he  was  not 
the  author.     As  an  example  of  his  verse 
I  quote  the  beginning  of  Psalm  cxli.  : — 

"  Vers  I'Eternel  des  oppressez  le  pere 
Je  m'en  iray,  luy  monstrant  Timpropere 
Que  Ton  me  faict,  luy  ferai  ma  priere 
A  haulte  voix,  qu'il  ne  jette  en  arriere 
Mes  piteux  cris,  car  en  lui  seul  j'espere." 


Poetry.  1 79 

It  is  not  often  that  a  poet  loses  his 
head  for  a  single  couplet,  but  this  seems  to 
have  been  the  fate  of  Caspar  Weiser,  Pro- 
fessor of  Lund  in  Sweden.  At  first  he 
showed  great  loyalty  to  his  country,  and 
wrote  a  panegyric  on  the  coronation  of 
Charles  XL,  King  of  Sweden.  But  a 
short  time  afterwards  he  appears  to  have 
changed  his  political  opinions,  for  when 
the  city  was  captured  by  the  Danes  in 
1676,  Weiser  met  the  conqueror,  and 
greeted  him  with  the  words  : — 

Perge  Triuntphaior  reliquas  submittere  terras, 
Sic  redit  ad  Dominum,  quod  fuit  ante,  sttum. 

This  verse  was  fatal  to  him.  The  Swedish 
monarch  recovered  his  lost  territory  ;  the 
Danes  were  expelled,  and  the  poor  poet 
was  accused  of  treason  and  beheaded. 

The  same  hard  fate  befell  John 
Williams  in  1619,  who  was  hanged,  drawn, 
and  quartered,  on  account  of  two  poems, 
Balaanis  Ass  and  Speculum  Regis,  the 
MSS.  of  which  he  foolishly  sent  secretly 
in  a  box  to  King  James.  The  monarch 
was  always  fearful  of  assassination,  and 
as  one  of  the  poems  foretold  his  speedy 
decease,  the  prophet  incurred  the  King's 
wrath  and  suffered  death  for  his  pains. 

A  single  poem  was  fatal  to  Deforges, 
entitled    Vers   sur    I'arrestation   du    Pre- 


i8o     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tendant  d'Angleterre,  en  1749.  It  com- 
mences with  the  following  lines  : — 

"  Peuple,  jadis  si  fier,  aujourd'hui  si  servile, 
Des   princes    malheureux,    tu   n'es    done    plus 

I'asyle  ?  " 

He  happened  to  be  present  at  the 
Opera  House  in  Paris  when  the  young 
Pretender  was  arrested,  and  being  indig- 
nant at  this  breach  of  hospitality,  and 
believing  that  the  honour  of  the  nation 
had  been  compromised,  he  wrote  these 
bitter  verses.  His  punishment  was  severe. 
He  was  arrested  and  conducted  to  the 
gloomy  fortress  of  Mont-Saint-Michel, 
where  he  remained  for  three  long  years 
shut  up  in  the  cage.  The  floor  of  this 
terrible  prison,  which  was  enveloped  in  per- 
petual darkness,  was  only  eight  square  feet. 
The  poor  poet  bore  his  sufferings  patiently, 
and  was  befriended  by  M.  de  Broglie, 
Abbe  of  Saint-Michel,  who  obtained  per- 
mission for  him  to  leave  his  cage  and  be 
imprisoned  in  the  Abbey;  nor  did  he 
fail  to  take  precautions  lest  the  poor  poet 
should  lose  his  eyesight  on  passing  from 
the  darkness  of  the  dungeon  to  the  light 
of  day.  The  good  Abbe  finally  procured 
liberty  for  his  captive,  who  became  secre- 
tary to  M.  de  Broglie's  brother,  and 
subsequently,    on  the  death  of  Madame 


Poetry.  1 8 1 

de  Pompadour,  commissioner  of  war. 
Terrible  were  the  sufferings  which  the 
unhappy  Deforges  endured  on  account  of 
his  luckless  poem. 

Theophile  was  condemned  to  be  burned 
at  Paris  on  account  of  his  book  Le  Par- 
nasse  des  Poetes  Satyrigues,  ou  Recueil  de 
vers  piquans  et  gaillards  de  notre  te^nps 
(1625,  in-8),  but  he  contrived  to  effect  his 
escape.  He  was  ultimately  captured  in 
Picardy,  and  put  in  a  dungeon.  He  was 
banished  from  the  kingdom  by  order  of 
the  Parliament.  In  his  old  age  he  found 
an  asylum  in  the  house  of  the  Duke  of 
Montmorency.  The  poet's  real  surname 
was  Viaud.  The  following  impromptu  is 
attributed  to  Theophile,  who  was  asked 
by  a  foolish  person  whether  all  poets  were 
fools  : — 

"  Oui,  je  I'avoue  avec  vous, 
Que  tous  les  poetes  sont  fous; 
Mais  sachant  ce  que  vous  etes, 
Tous  les  fous  ne  sont  pas  poetes." 

His  poems  are  a  mere  collection  of  im- 
pieties and  obscenities,  published  with  the 
greatest  impudence,  and  well  deserved 
their  destruction.  On  one  occasion  he 
travelled  to  Holland  with  Balzac,  and 
used  this  opportunity  for  bringing  out  an 
infamous  charge  against  him,  which    he 


1 82     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

had  most  probably  invented.  His  book, 
the  cause  of  all  his  woes,  was  burnt  with 
the  poet's  effigy  in  1623. 

Many  authors  have  ruined  themselves 
by  writing  scandalous  works,  offensive  to 
the  moral  feelings  of  not  very  scrupulous 
ages.  Several  chapters  might  be  written 
on  this  not  very  savoury  subject.  We 
may  mention  Helot's  L  Escole  des  Filles, 
par  dialogues  (Paris,  1672,  in-12).  Helot 
was  the  son  of  a  lieutenant  in  the  King's 
Swiss  Guard.  As  he  succeeded  in  making 
his  escape  from  prison,  he  was  hung  in 
effigy,  and  his  books  were  burnt.  Chauveau, 
the  celebrated  engraver,  who  designed  a 
beautiful  engraving  for  Helot,  not  knowing 
for  what  purpose  it  was  intended,  also 
incurred  great  risks,  but  fortunately  he 
escaped  with  no  greater  penalty  than  the 
breaking  of  the  plate  on  which  he  had 
engraved  the  design.  The  printer  suffered 
with  the  author.  Some  think  that  Helot 
was  burnt  at  Paris  with  his  books. 

The  Muses  have  often  lured  men  from 
other  and  safer  delights,  and  tempted 
them  to  wander  in  dangerous  paths. 
Matteo  Palmieri  was  a  celebrated  Italian 
historian,  born  at  Florence  in  1405  ;  he 
was  a  man  of  much  learning,  endowed 
with  great  powers  of  energy  and  perse- 
verance :   he  was  entrusted  with  several 


Poetry.  183 

important  embassies,  and  achieved  fame 
as  an  historian  by  his  vast  work  Chronicon 
Generate,  in  which  he  set  himself  the 
appalling  task  of  writing  the  history  of  the 
world  from  the  creation  to  his  own  time. 
The  first  part  of  this  work,  consisting  of 
extracts  from  the  writings  of  Eusebius  and 
Prosper,  remains  unpublished.  The  rest 
first  saw  the  light  in  T475,  ^^^  subsequent 
editions  appeared  at  Venice  in  1483,  and 
at  Basle  in  1529  and  1536.  He  wrote 
also  four  books  on  the  Pisan  War.  Would 
that  he  had  confined  himself  to  his 
histories !  Unfortunately  he  wrote  a 
poem,  which  was  never  published,  entitled 
Citta  Divina,  representing  the  soul  re- 
leased from  the  chains  of  the  body,  and 
freed  from  earthly  stain,  wandering 
through  various  places,  and  at  last  resting 
amid  the  company  of  the  blessed  in 
heaven.  Our  souls  are  angels  who  in  the 
revolt  of  Lucifer  were  unwilling  to  attach 
themselves  either  to  God  or  to  the  rebel 
hosts  of  heaven.  So,  as  a  punishment, 
God  made  them  dwell  in  mortal  bodies 
in  a  state  of  probation.  This  work  was 
considered  tainted  with  the  Manichffian 
heresy,  and  was  condemned  to  the  flames, 
and  some  assert  that  Palmieri  shared 
the  fate  of  his  book.  This,  however,  is 
doubtful. 


184     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Very  fatal  to  himself  were  the  odes  and 
philippics  of  M.  La  Grange,  written  in 
1720,  and  published  in  Paris  in  1795, 
in-i2,  with  the  title  Les  Philippiques, 
Odes,  par  M.  de  la  Grange-Chaticel, 
Seigneur  d'Antoniat  en  Ferigord,  avec 
notes  historiques,  critiques,  et  litteraires. 
In  these  poems  he  attacked  with  malig- 
nant fury  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  Regent  of 
France,  and  was  obliged  to  fly  for  safety 
to  Avignon.  There  he  was  betrayed  by  a 
false  friend,  who  persuaded  him  to  walk 
into  French  territory,  and  delivered  him 
into  the  hands  of  a  band  of  soldiers 
prepared  for  his  capture.  The  poet  was 
conducted  to  the  Isle  of  Ste.  Margue- 
rite, and  confined  in  a  dungeon.  The 
governor  of  the  castle  was  enchanted 
by  his  talents  and  gaiety,  and  gave  him 
great  liberty.  But  Le  Grange's  pen  was 
still  restless.  He  must  needs  make  a 
bitter  epigram  upon  his  kind  benefactor, 
which  so  aroused  the  governor's  ire  that 
the  poet  was  sent  back  to  his  dungeon 
cell.  A  piteous  ode  addressed  to  the 
Regent  imploring  pardon  secured  for  him 
a  less  rigorous  confinement.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  his  escape  ;  then 
wandered  through  many  lands ;  and  at 
last,  on  the  death  of  the  Regent  in  1723, 
ventured  to  return  to  France,  where  he 


Poetry.  185 

lived  many  years  and  wrote  much  poetry 
and  several  plays,  dying  in  1758.  It  has 
never  been  ascertained  what  was  the 
cause  of  his  animosity  to  the  Regent ; 
certainly  his  verses  glow  with  fiery  invec- 
tive and  abuse.  He  speaks  of  him  as 
un  monstre  farouche.  The  following 
example  will  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  be 
quoted  : — 

"  II  ouvrit  a  peine  les  paupieres, 
Que,  tel  qu'il  se  montre  aujourd'hui, 
II  fut  indigne  des  barrieres 
Qu'il  vit  entre  le  trone  et  lui. 
Dans  ses  detestables  idees 
De  I'art  des  Circes,  des  Medees, 
11  fit  ses  uniques  plaisirs  ; 
II  crut  cette  voie  in  female 
Digne  de  remplir  I'intervalle 
Qui  s'opposait  a  ses  desirs." 

Voltaire  suffered  one  year's  imprison- 
ment in  the  Bastille  on  account  of  a 
satirical  poem  on  Louis  XIV.,  and  in 
confinement  wrote  an  epic  poem,  La 
Henriade.  Some  other  storms  raised  by 
his  works,  such  as  his  Lettres  Philoso- 
phiques  and  his  Epitre  a  Uratiie,  he 
weathered  by  flight,  or  by  unscrupulously 
denying  their  authorship.  The  rest  of 
his  works,  contained  in  seventy  volumes, 
do  not  concern  our  present  purpose. 

Our  English  poet  James  Montgomery 
began   life  as   a  poor  shop-boy.     At   an 


1 86     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

early  age  he  began  to  write  verses,  and 
became  editor  of  a  Shefifield  newspaper. 
The  troubles  of  the  French  Revolution 
then  broke  out,  and  fired  the  extreme 
Radical  spirit  of  the  poetical  editor.  His 
writings  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Government,  and  he  was  sent  to  prison, 
where  he  wrote  several  poems — Ode  to  the 
Evening  Star^  Pleasures  of  Imprisonment^ 
and  Verses  to  a  Robin  Redbreast. 

As  late  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  a  young  unfortunate  poet,  in  spite 
of  the  interest  of  powerful  friends,  was 
hung  and  burnt  at  Paris.  This  was 
young   Pierre    Petit,    the   author   of   La 

B celeste,    chansons  et  autres  Poesies 

litres.  His  productions  were  certainly 
infamous  and  scandalous,  but  that  was  no 
reason  why  the  poet  should  have  been 
hanged.  Moreover  the  poems  existed 
only  in  MS.  ;  subsequently  they  were  pub- 
lished in  a  Recueil  de  Poesies.  The  manner 
of  the  discovery  of  the  poems  is  curious, 
and  serves  as  a  warning  to  incautious 
bards.  Leaving  his  chamber  one  day,  he 
opened  the  window,  and  unfortunately  a 
strong  gust  of  wind  carried  several  pages 
of  MS.  which  were  lying  on  his  table  into 
the  street.  A  priest  who  happened  to  be 
passing  the  house  examined  one  or  two 
of  the  drifting   poems,  and,  discovering 


Poetry.  187 

that  they  were  impious,  denounced  Petit 
to  the  authorities.  His  rooms  furnished 
a  large  supply  of  similar  work,  and,  as  we 
have  said,  the  poet  paid  the  penalty  for 
his  rashness  at  the  gallows. 

Although  the  methods  of  later  critics 
are  less  severe  than  their  inquisitorial 
predecessors,  they  have  not  been  without 
their  victims,  and  books  maltreated  by 
them  have  sometimes  "  done  to  death " 
their  authors. 

A  century  ago  furious  invective  was  the 
fashion,  and  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
reviewers  were  cruel.  Poor  Keats  died 
of  criticism,  if  Shelley's  story  be  true. 
On  the  appearance  of  Endyinion  the 
review  in  Blackwood  told  the  young  poet 
"  to  go  back  to  his  gallipots,"  and  that  it 
was  a  wiser  and  better  thing  to  be  a 
starved  apothecary  than  a  starved  poet. 
Such  vulgar  abuse  was  certainly  not 
criticism.  Shelley  wrote  that  "  the  savage 
criticism  on  Keats'  Endyfuion  which 
appeared  in  the  Quarterly  Review  pro- 
duced the  most  violent  effects  on  his 
susceptible  mind ;  the  agitation  thus 
originated  ended  in  the  rupture  of  a 
blood-vessel  in  the  lungs  \  a  rapid  con- 
sumption ensued,  and  the  succeeding 
acknowledgments  from  more  candid 
critics  of  the  true  greatness  of  his  powers 


1 88     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

were  ineffectual  to  heal  the  wound  thus 
wantonly  inflicted.  It  may  be  well  said, 
that  these  wretched  men  know  not  what 
they  do.  They  scatter  their  insults  and 
their  slanders  without  heed  as  to  whether 
the  poisonous  shafts  light  on  a  heart 
made  callous  by  many  blows,  or  one  like 
Keats',  composed  of  more  penetrable 
stuff."  And  then  addressing  the  reviewer 
he  says  :  "  Miserable  man  !  you,  one  of 
the  meanest,  have  wantonly  defaced  one  of 
the  noblest  specimens  of  the  workmanship 
of  God.  Nor  shall  it  be  your  excuse  that, 
murderer  as  you  are,  you  have  spoken 
daggers,  but  used  none." 

Joseph  Ritson,  the  antiquary,  who, 
though  not  a  poet,  was  a  great  writer  on 
poetry  and  our  early  English  songs  and 
ballads,  complained  bitterly  of  the  ignorant 
reviewers,  and  described  himself  as 
brought  to  an  end  in  ill-health  and  low- 
spirits — certain  to  be  insulted  by  a  base 
and  prostitute  gang  of  lurking  assassins 
who  stab  in  the  dark,  and  whose  poisoned 
daggers  he  had  already  experienced. 
Ritson  himself  was  a  fairly  venomous 
critic,  and  the  "  Ritsonian "  style  has 
become  proverbial.  Nowadays  authors 
do  not  usually  die  of  criticism,  not  even 
susceptible  poets.  Critics  can  still  be 
severe    enough,    but   they   are    just   and 


Poetry.  1 89 

generous,  and  never  descend  to  that 
scurrilous  personal  abuse  of  authors  which 
inflicted  such  severe  wounds  a  century 
ago,  and  sometimes  caused  to  flow  the 
very  heart's  blood  of  their  victims. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


Drama  and  Romance. 


Sir  John  Yorke  and  Catholic  Plays — Abraham 
Cowley — Antoine  Danchet — Claude  Crebillon 
— Nogaret — Francois  de  Salignac  Fenelon. 

F  the  misfortunes  of  dramatists 
and  romance-writers  I  have  Httle 
to  record,  but  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  conclude  that  this  subject 
always  furnished  a  secure  field  for  literary 
activity.  However,  the  successes  of  the 
writers  of  fiction  and  plays  in  our  own 
times  might  console  the  Muse  for  any 
indignities  which  her  followers  have 
suffered  in  the  past. 

In  our  own  country  the  early  inventors  of 
dramatic  performances — Mysteries,  Moral- 
ities, and  Interludes — lived  securely,  their 
names  being  unknown.  When  penal  laws 
were  in  force  against  Roman  Catholics, 
plays  inculcating  their  doctrines  and  wor- 
ship were  often  secretly  performed  in  the 
houses  of  Catholic  gentry.  The  anony- 
190 


Drama  and  Romance.         191 

mous  author  was  indeed  safe,  but  Sir 
John  Yorke  and  his  lady  were  fined  one 
thousand  pounds  apiece  and  imprisoned 
in  the  Tower  on  account  of  a  play  per- 
formed in  their  house  at  Christmas,  1614, 
containing  "  many  foul  passages  to  the 
vilifying  of  our  religion  and  exacting  of 
popery." 

Abraham  Cowley  was  driven  into  retire- 
ment by  his  unfortunate  play  Cutter  of 
Coleman  Street,  which  was  an  improved 
edition  of  his  unfinished  comedy  entitled 
The  Guardian,  acted  at  Cambridge  before 
the  Court  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War.  After  the  Restoration  he  produced 
the  revised  version  under  the  name  of 
Cutter  of  Coleman  Street,  the  principal 
character  being  a  merry  person  who  bore 
that  cognomen.  Some  of  the  aspirants  to 
royal  favour  persuaded  the  King  that  the 
play  was  a  satire  directed  against  him  and 
his  Court,  and  the  poor  poet,  condemned 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Muses,  calumniated 
and  deprived  of  all  hopes  of  preferment, 
retired  in  disgust  to  a  country  retreat 
among  the  hills  of  Surrey.  The  dis- 
favour of  the  Court  was  also  increased 
by  his  Ode  to  Brutus,  wherein  he  had 
extolled  the  genius  of  his  hero,  and  praised 
liberty  in  language  too  enthusiastic  for  the 
Court  of  Charles  II.    The  spirit  of  raelan- 


192     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

choly  claimed  Cowley  for  her  own.     Dis- 
appointment and  disgust  clouded  his  heart ; 
ill-health    followed,    and   soon   the   poor 
poet   breathed    his    last.     As   is   not  un- 
usual, the  learned  and  the  great  mourned 
over  and   praised   the   dead   poet  whom 
when  alive  they  had  so  cruelly  neglected. 
Antoine     Danchet     wvis    one    of    the 
most  famous  of  French  dramatic  writers, 
although   his   poetry  was   not   of  a   very 
high  order  and  lacked  energy  and  colour. 
He  was  born  at  Riom,  in  Auvergne,   in 
167 1 ;    he   distinguished  himself    at    the 
college  of  the  Oratorian  fathers,  and  soon 
came   to  Paris   to   become  a   teacher  of 
youths   and  to  finish   his  studies  at   the 
Jesuit  College.     At  a  very  early  age  he 
manifested   a  great   love   of  poetry,    and 
when    he    used   to   recite    the   whole   of 
Horace   he   was  rewarded  by  a   wealthy 
patron  with  a  present  of  thirty  loiiis  d'ors. 
He   bore  so  noble  a  character  and  had 
such    a    reputation    for    learning    that    a 
certain  noble  lady  on  her  death-bed  en- 
trusted him  with  the  charge    of  her  two 
sons,  giving  him  a  pension  of  two  hundred 
livres,   on   the   condition  that  he  should 
never  leave  them.     Soon  after  her  death 
he  was  ordered  to  write  some  verses  for  a 
ballet  produced  at  Court;  this  led  him  to 
acquire  a  taste  for  the  theatre,  and  he  pro- 


Drama  and  Romance.  193 

duced  in  1700  an  opera  entitled  Hesione, 
which  met  with  a  great  success.     The  re- 
lations of  his  pupils  were  aroused.    It  was 
scandalous  that  a  teacher  of  youths  should 
write  plays.    All  the  arguments  that  super- 
stition could  suggest   were  used   against 
him.     He  must  relinquish  his  charge  ;  he 
must   refund  the  pension  which  he  had 
received  from  the  mistaken  mother.     But 
Danchet  saw  no  reason  why  he  should 
conform  to  their  demands,  and  refused  to 
relinquish  his  charge.     They  urged   him 
still  more  vehemently,  but  met  with  the 
same  response.     They  at  length  refused 
to  pay   him  the   pension,  and   withdrew 
his  pupils  from  his  care.     A  troublesome 
law-suit  followed,  but  at  length  the  poet 
emerged  triumphant  from  the  troubles  in 
which  his  love  of  the  drama  had  involved 
him.     He   produced    also    the   tragedies 
of    Cyrus,    Tyndarides,    Heradides,    and 
Nitetis,  but  these  did  not  meet  with  the 
success  of  his  earlier  work.     He  was  a 
devoted    son   to    his    mother,    depriving 
himself  of  even  the  necessaries  of  life  in 
order  to  support  her.     He  showed  himself 
a  kind  and   generous   friend  to  all,  and 
always  took  a  keen  interest  in  young  men. 
One  of  these  brought  him  an  elegy  written 
to  his  mistress  and  bewailing  her  misfor- 
tunes.    The  verses   began  with  Maison 

13 


194     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

qui  renfermes  robjet  de  man  amour.  "  Is 
not  that  word  maison  rather  feeble  ? " 
observed  Danchet ;  "  would  not  palais, 
beau  lieu  ...  be  better  ?  "  "  Yes,"  re- 
plied the  poet,  "  but  it  is  a  maison  de  force, 
a  prison ! "  A  complete  edition  of  his 
works   was  published   after  his  death  in 

1751- 

The  younger  Cre'billon  (Claude  Prosper 
Jolyot)  was  confined  in  the  Bastille  on 
account  of  his  satirical  romance  Tanzdi 
et  Neadarne  (1734,  2  vols.,  in-12).  His 
father,  Prosper  Crebillon,  was  a  very 
famous  French  dramatic  poet,  and  dis- 
carded the  profession  of  the  law  for  the 
sake  of  the  Muses.  Idomeneus,  Atreus 
Eiecfra,  Rhada/nisttis,  and  the  Triumvi- 
rate were  some  of  his  works.  The  son 
possessed  much  of  his  father's  genius,  and 
his  wit  and  gaiety  rendered  him  a  pleasant 
companion.  At  one  time  he  was  a  great 
favourite  amongst  the  elite  of  Parisian 
society.  But  his  satirical  and  licentious 
romances  brought  him  into  trouble,  and 
the  above-mentioned  work  conducted  him 
to  the  Bastille,  wherein  so  many  authors 
have  been  incarcerated.    He  died  in  1777. 

The  name  is  not  known  of  a  young 
man  who.  came  to  Paris  with  a  marvellous 
play  which  he  felt  sure  would  electrify 
the  world  and  cover  its  author  with  glory. 


Drama  and  Romance.         195 

Unhappily,  he  met  with  a  cold  reception 
by  a  stern  critic,  who,  with  merciless 
severity,  pointed  out  the  glaring  errors  in 
his  beloved  work.  The  poor  author,  over- 
come with  vexation,  returned  home  with 
a  broken  heart,  burnt  his  tragedy,  and 
died  of  grief. 

M.  Nogaret  is  not  the  only  author  who 
has  been  unfortunate  in  the  selection  of 
a  subject  for  a  romance.  He  wrote  a 
book  entitled  La  Capucinade  (1765),  and 
the  heroes  of  his  story  are  the  Capuchin 
monks,  whom  he  treated  somewhat 
severely.  This  work  and  his  Memoires 
de  Bachawnont  conducted  the  author  to 
the  Bastille. 

Few  are  ignorant  of  that  most  charming, 
graceful,  and  immortal  work  Telcmache. 
Not  only  has  it  been  studied  and  admired 
by  every  Frenchman,  but  it  has  been 
translated  into  German,  English,  Spanish, 
Flemish,  and  Italian.  But  in  spite  of  the 
great  popularity  which  the  work  has  en- 
joyed, perhaps  few  are  acquainted  with 
the  troubles  which  this  poetic  drama  and 
romance  brought  upon  its  honoured  author. 
Frangoisde  Salignac  de  la  Mothe  Fenelon, 
born  in  the  castle  of  his  ancestors  at 
Fenelon  in  165 1,  was  a  man  of  rare  piety, 
virtue,  and  learning,  who  deservedly  at- 
tained to  the  highest  ecclesiastical  honours, 


196     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

and  was  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Cani- 
bray.  He  had  previously  been  appointed 
by  Louis  XIV.  tutor  to  the  Dauphin,  and 
his  wit  and  grace  made  him  a  great 
favourite  at  the  Court,  and  even  Madame 
de  Maintenon  for  a  time  smiled  upon 
the  noble  churchman,  whose  face  was 
so  remarkable  for  its  expressiveness  that, 
according  to  the  Court  chronicler  Saint 
Simon,  "  it  required  an  effort  to  cease 
looking  at  him."  His  Fables  and  Dialogues 
of  the  Dead  were  written  for  his  royal  pupil. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  Archbishop 
sympathised  strongly  with  Madame  Guyon 
and  the  French  mystics,  that  he  did  not 
approve  of  some  of  the  extravagant  expres- 
sions of  that  ardent  enthusiast,  but  vindi- 
cated the  pure  mysticism  in  his  famous 
work  Maximes  des  Saints.  This  work 
involved  him  in  controversy  with  Bossuet, 
and  through  the  influence  of  Louis  XIV. 
a  bull  was  wrung  from  Pope  Innocent  XII. 
condemning  the  book,  and  declaring  that 
twenty-three  propositions  e.xtracted  from 
it  were  "rash,  scandalous,  and  offensive 
to  pious  ears,  pernicious  and  erroneous.'" 
The  Pope  was  very  reluctant  to  pass  this 
sentence  of  condemnation,  and  was  in- 
duced to  do  so  through  fear  of  Louis, 
and  not  because  he  considered  the  book 
to   be  false.     With  his  usual  gentleness, 


Drama  and  Romance.  197 

Fenelon  accepted  the  sentence  without  a 
word  of  protest ;  he  read  the  brief  in  his 
own  cathedral,  declaring  that  the  decision 
of  his  superiors  was  to  him  an  echo  of 
the  Divine  Will.  Fenelon  had  aroused 
the  hatred  of  Madame  de  Maintenon  by 
opposing  her  marriage  with  the  King, 
which  took  place  privately  in  1685,  and 
she  did  not  allow  any  opportunity  to 
escape  of  injuring  and  persecuting  the 
Archbishop.  At  this  juncture,  through 
the  treachery  of  a  servant,  Telcmache  was 
published.  At  first  it  was  received  with 
high  favour  at  Court.  It  inculcated  the 
truth  that  virtue  is  the  glory  of  princes 
and  the  happiness  of  nations,  and  while 
describing  the  adventures  of  the  son  of 
Ulysses  its  author  strove  to  establish  the 
true  system  of  state-craft,  and  his  work 
is  imbued  with  a  sense  of  beauty  and 
refinement  which  renders  it  a  most  plea- 
surable book  to  read.  But  Madame  de 
Maintenon  was  grievously  offended  by  its 
success,  and  by  the  praise  which  even 
Louis  bestowed  upon  it.  She  easily  per- 
suaded him  that  the  work  was  a  carefully 
executed  satire  directed  against  the 
ministers  of  the  Court,  and  that  even  the 
King  himself  was  not  spared.  Malignant 
tongues  asserted  that  Madame  de  Monte- 
span,   the   King's  former  mistress,  might 


198     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

be  recognised  under  the  guise  of  Calypso, 
Mademoiselle  de  Fontanges  in  Eucharis, 
the  Duchess   of  Bourgogne  in  Antiope, 
Louvois   in   Prothesilas,   King  James    in 
Idomenee,  and  Louis  himself  in  Sesostris. 
This  aroused  that  monarch's  indignation. 
Fenelon  was  banished  from  Court,  and 
retired  to  Cambray,  where  he  spent  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life,  honoured  by 
all,    and   beloved   by   his   many   friends. 
Strangers  came  to  listen  to  his  words  of 
piety   and   wisdom.      He   performed   his 
episcopal  duties  with  a  care  and  diligence 
worthy  of  the  earliest  and  purest  ages  of 
the  Church,  and  in  this  quiet  seclusion 
contented  himself  in  doing  good  to  his 
fellow-creatures,  in  spite  of  the  opposition 
of  the  King,  the  censures  of  the  Pope, 
and    the   vehement   attacks  of  his   con- 
troversial foes  Bossuet  and  the  Jansenists. 
In  addition   to  his  fatal   book  he  wrote 
Demonstration     de    Fexistence    de     Dieu, 
Refutation    du    Systeme   de   Malebranche, 
and  several  other  works. 

The  Jansenist  Abbe  Barral,  in  his 
Dictionnaire  Historique,  Litteraire,  et 
Critique,  des  Hommes  Celebres,  thus  speaks 
of  our  author  and  his  work :  "  He  com- 
posed for  the  instruction  of  the  Dukes  of 
Burgundy,  Anjou,  and  Berri  several  works  ; 
amongst  others,  the  Telemachus — a  sin- 


Drama  and  Romance.         199 

gular  book,  which  partakes  at  once  of  the 
character  of  a  romance  and  of  a  poem,  and 
which  substitutes  a  prosaic  cadence  for 
versification.  But  several  luscious  pictures 
would  not  lead  us  to  suspect  that  this  book 
issued  from  the  pen  of  a  sacred  minister 
for  the  education  of  a  prince  ;  and  what 
we  are  told  by  a  famous  poet  is  not  im- 
probable, that  Fenelon  did  not  compose  it 
at  Court,  but  that  it  is  the  fruits  of  his 
retreat  in  his  diocese.  And  indeed  the 
amours  of  Calypso  and  Eucharis  should 
not  be  the  first  lessons  that  a  minister 
ought  to  give  to  his  scholars  ;  and,  besides, 
the  fine  moral  maxims  which  the  author 
attributes  to  the  Pagan  divinities  are  not 
well  placed  in  their  mouth.  Is  not  this 
rendering  homage  to  the  demons  of  the 
great  truths  which  we  receive  from  the 
Gospel,  and  to  despoil  Jesus  Christ  to 
render  respectable  the  annihilated  gods  of 
paganism  ?  This  prelate  was  a  wretched 
divine,  more  familiar  with  the  light  of 
profane  authors,  than  with  that  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Church."  The  Tansenists 
were  most  worthy  men,  but  in  their 
opinion  of  their  adversary  Fenelon  they 
were  doubtless  mistaken. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Booksellers  and  Publishers. 

The  Printers  of  Nicholas  de  Lyra  and  Caesar 
Baronius — John  Fust — Richard  Grafton — 
Jacob  van  Liesvelt^John  Lufftius — Robert 
Stephens  (Estienne) — Henry  Stephens — 
Simon  Ockley — Floyer  Sydenham — Edmund 
Castell  —  Page  —  John  Lilburne  —  Etienne 
Dolet — John  Morin — Christian  Wechel — 
Andrew  Wechel — Jacques  Froulle — Godon- 
esche — William  Anderton. 


UTHORS  have  not  been  the  only 
beings  who  have  sufifered  by  their 
writings,  but  frequently  they  have 
involved  the  printers  and  sellers 
of  their  works  in  their  unfortunate  ruin. 
The  risks  which  adventurous  publishers 
run  in  our  own  enlightened  age  are  not  so 
great  as  those  incurred  a  few  centuries  ago. 
Indeed  Mr.  Walter  Besant  assures  us  that 
now  our  publishers  have  no  risks,  not  even 
financial  !  They  are  not  required  to  pro- 
duce the  huge  folios  and  heavy  quartos 
which   our   ancestors    delighted   in,    and 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     201 

poured  forth  with  such  amazing  rapidity, 
unless  there  is  a  good  subscribers'  Hst  and 
all  the  copies  are  taken- 

The  misfortunes  of  booksellers  caused 
by  voluminous  authors  might  form  a 
special  subject  of  inquiry,  and  we  com- 
mend it  to  the  attentions  of  some  other 
Book-lover.  We  should  hear  the  groans 
of  two  eminent  printers  who  were  ruined 
by  the  amazing  industry  of  one  author, 
Nicholas  de  Lyra.  He  himself  died  long 
before  printing  was  invented,  in  the  year 
1340,  but  he  left  behind  him  his  great 
work,  Biblia  sacra  cum  interpretationibus 
et  postillis,  which  became  the  source  of 
trouble  to  the  printers,  Schweynheym  and 
Pannartz,  of  Subiaco  and  Rome.  They 
were  persuaded  or  ordered  by  the  Pope 
or  his  cardinals  to  print  his  prodigious 
commentary  on  the  Bible;  when  a  few 
volumes  had  been  printed  they  desired 
most  earnestly  to  be  relieved  of  their 
burden,  and  petitioned  the  Pope  to  be 
saved  from  the  bankruptcy  which  this 
mighty  undertaking  entailed.  They  pos- 
sessed a  lasting  mem.ento  of  this  author  in 
the  shape  of  eleven  hundred  ponderous 
tomes,  which  were  destined  to  remain  upon 
their  shelves  till  fire  or  moths  or  other 
enemies  of  books  had  done  their  work. 
These  volumes  began  to  be   printed   in 


202     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

147 1,  and  contain  the  earliest  specimens 
of  Greek  type. 

The  printers  of  the  works  of  Prynne, 
Barthius,  Reynaud,  and  other  voluminous 
writers  must  have  had  a  sorry  experience 
with  their  authors  ;  but  "  once  bitten  twice 
shy."  Hence  some  of  these  worthies  found 
it  rather  difficult  to  publish  their  works, 
and  there  were  no  authors'  agents  or 
Societies  of  Authors  to  aid  their  negotia- 
tions. Indeed  we  are  told  that  a  printer 
who  was  saddled  with  a  large  number  of 
unsaleable  copies  of  a  heavy  piece  of 
literary  production  adopted  the  novel 
expedient  of  bringing  out  several  editions 
of  the  work  !  This  he  accomplished  by 
merely  adding  a  new  title-page  to  his  old 
copies,  whereby  he  readily  deceived  the 
unwary. 

Catherino,  in  his  book  entitled  L^Art 
d^Imprimer,  quotes  the  saying  of  De 
Fourcey,  a  Jesuit  of  Paris,  that  "  one 
might  make  a  pretty  large  volume  of  the 
catalogue  of  those  who  have  entirely  ruined 
their  booksellers  by  their  books." 

But  the  booksellers  and  printers  whose 
hard  fate  I  wish  principally  to  record  are 
those  Avho  shared  with  the  authors  the 
penalties  inflicted  on  account  of  their  con- 
demned books.  Unhappily  there  have 
been    many   such   whose   fate    has   been 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     203 

recorded,  and  probably  there  are  many 
more  who  have  suffered  in  obscurity  the 
terrible  punishments  which  the  stern 
censors  of  former  days  knew  so  well  how 
to  inflict. 

One  of  the  reputed  discoverers  of  the 
art  of  printing,  John  Fust,  is  said  to  have 
been  persecuted  ;  he  was  accused  at  Paris 
of  multiplying  the  Scriptures  by  the  aid 
of  the  Devil,  and  w-as  compelled  to  seek 
safety  in  flight. 

The  booksellers  of  the  historian  Caesar 
Baronius,*  whose  account  of  the  Spanish 
rule  in  Sicily  so  enraged  Philip  III.  of 
Spain,  were  condemned  to  perpetual  servi- 
tude, and  were  forced  to  endure  the  terrible 
tortures  inflicted  on  galley  slaves. 

The  early  printers  of  the  Bible  incurred 
great  risks.  Richard  Grafton  and  Edward 
Whitchurch,  together  with  Miles  Cover- 
dale^  were  entrusted  to  arrange  for  the 
printing  of  Thomas  Mathew's  translation. 
The  work  was  given  to  the  printers  in 
Paris,  as  the  English  printers  were  not 
very  highly  esteemed.  The  book  was 
nearly  completed  when  the  Inquisition 
effectually  stopped  the  further  progress 
of  the  work  by  seizing  the  sheets,  and 
Grafton  with  his  companions  were  forced 
to  fly.  Then  Francis  Regnault,  whose 
*  Cf.  page  97. 


204     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

brother's  colophon  is  the  admiration  of 
all  bibUophiles,  undertook  the  printing 
of  the  New  Testament,  made  by  Miles 
Coverdale,  which  was  finished  at  Paris  in 
1538.  Richard  Grafton  and  Whitchurch 
contrived  to  obtain  their  types  from  Paris, 
and  the  Bible  was  completed  in  1539. 
Thus  they  became  printers  themselves, 
and  as  a  reward  for  his  labour,  when 
the  Roman  Catholics  again  became 
rulers  in  high  places,  Richard  Grafton 
was  imprisoned.  His  printer's  mark  was 
a  graft,  or  young  tree,  growing  out  of  a 
tun. 

The  title  of  the  Bible  which  was  begun 
in  Paris  and  finished  in  London  is  as 
follows  : — 

The  Byble  in  Englyshe.    1539.  Folio. 

"The  Byble  in  Englyshe,  that  is  to 
saye  the  content  of  all  the  Holy  Scrypture, 
bothe  of  y''  Olde,  and  Newe  Testament, 
truly  translated  after  the  veryte  of  the 
Hebrue  and  Greke  textes,  by  y^  dylygent 
studye  of  dyuerse  excellent  learned  men, 
expert  in  the  forsayde  tongues.  Printed 
by  Rychard  Grafton  and  Edward  Whit- 
churche.    Cum  priuilegio — solum.   1539." 

This  Grafton  was  also  a  voluminous 
author,  and  wrote  part  of  Hall's  Chronicles, 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     205 

an  abridgment  of  the  Chronicles  of 
England,  and  a  manual  of  the  same. 

Whether  by  accident  or  intention,  a 
printer  of  the  Bible  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  I.  omitted  the  important  negative 
in  the  Seventh  Commandment.  He  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  High 
Commission  Court,  and  fined  three 
thousand  pounds.  The  story  is  also 
told  of  the  widow  of  a  German  printer 
who  strongly  objected  to  the  supremacy 
of  husbands,  and  desired  to  revise  the 
text  of  the  passage  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
which  speaks  of  the  subjection  of  wives 
(Genesis  iii.  16).  The  original  text  is 
"He  shall  be  thy  lord."  For  Hcrr 
(lord)  in  the  German  version  she  sub- 
stituted Narr,  and  made  the  reading, 
"  He  shall  be  thy  fool."  It  is  said  that 
she  paid  the  penalty  of  death  for  this 
strange  assertion  of  "woman's  rights." 

We  must  not  omit  the  name  of  another 
martyr  amongst  the  honourable  rank  of 
printers  of  the  Scriptures,  Jacob  van 
Liesvelt,  who  was  beheaded  on  account 
of  his  edition  of  the  Bible,  entitled 
Bible  en  langue  hollandaise  [Aniiverpen, 
1542,  in-fol.;. 

John  Lufftius,  a  bookseller  and  printer 
of  Wiirtemburg,  incurred  many  perils  when 
he   printed    Luther's   German    edition  of 


2o6     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

the  Sacred  Scriptures.  It  is  said  that  the 
Pope  used  to  write  Lufiftius'  name  on  paper 
once  every  year,  and  cast  it  into  the  fire, 
uttering  terrible  imprecations  and  dire 
threatenings.  But  the  thunders  of  Roman 
pontiffs  did  not  trouble  the  worthy  book- 
seller, who  laughed  at  their  threats,  and 
exclaimed,  "  I  perspired  so  freely  at 
Rome  in  the  flame,  that  I  must  take  a 
larger  draught,  as  it  is  necessary  to  ex- 
tinguish that  flame." 

The  same  fatality  befell  Robert 
Stephanus,  the  Parisian  printer.  His 
family  name  was  Estienne,  but,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  the  time,  he  used  the 
Latin  form  of  the  word.  He  edited  and 
published  a  version  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures, showing  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and 
Latin  texts,  and  adding  certain  notes 
which  were  founded  upon  the  writings 
of  Francois  Vatable,  Abbot  of  Bellozane, 
but  also  contained  some  of  the  scholarly 
reflections  of  the  learned  bookseller.  On 
the  title-page  the  name  of  the  Abbot 
appears  first,  before  that  of  Stephanus. 
But  considerable  hostility  was  raised 
against  him  by  this  and  other  works  on 
the  part  of  the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne. 
He  was  compelled  to  seek  safety  in 
flight,  and  found  a  secure  resting-place 
in   Geneva.      Plis  enemies  were  obliged 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     207 

to  content  themselves  with  burning  his 
effigy.  This  troubled  Stephanus  quite 
as  little  as  the  Papal  censures  distressed 
Lufiftius.  At  the  time  when  his  effigy 
was  being  burnt,  the  Parisian  printer 
was  in  the  snowy  mountains  of  the 
Auvergne,  and  declared  that  he  never 
felt  so  cold  in  his  life. 

The  printers  seem  ever  to  have  been 
on  the  side  of  the  Protestants.  In 
Germany  they  produced  all  the  works 
of  the  Reformation  authors  with  great 
accuracy  and  skill,  and  often  at  their 
own  expense ;  whereas  the  Roman 
Catholics  could  only  get  their  books 
printed  at  great  cost,  and  even  then  the 
printing  was  done  carelessly  and  in  a 
slovenly  manner,  so  as  to  seem  the 
production  of  illiterate  men.  And  if 
any  printer,  more  conscientious  than  the 
rest,  did  them  more  justice,  he  was  jeered 
at  in  the  market-places  and  at  the  fairs 
of  Frankfort  for  a  Papist  and  a  slave  of 
the  priests. 

This  Robert  Stephanus  (Estienne  or 
Stephens,  as  the  name  is  usually  called) 
was  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
families  of  learned  printers  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  The  founder  of  the  family  was 
Henry  Stephens,  born  at  Paris  in  1470, 
and   the   last   of  the  race  died  there  in 


2o8     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

1674.  Thus  for  nearly  two  centuries 
did  they  confer  the  greatest  advantages 
on  literature,  which  they  enriched  quite 
as  much  by  their  learning  as  by  their 
skill.  Their  biographies  have  frequently 
been  written  ;  so  there  is  no  occasion  to 
record  them.  This  Robert  Stephens, 
who  was  exiled  on  account  of  his  books, 
was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  scholars 
of  his  age.  He  printed,  edited,  and  pub- 
lished an  immense  number  of  works  in 
Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  amongst 
others  the  Biblia  Latina  (1528),  Latince. 
linguce  Thesaurus  (1531),  Didionarium 
latino-gallicum  (1543),  Ecdesiastica  His- 
toria  Eusebii,  Socrates,  Theodoreti  (1544), 
Biblia  Hebraica  (1544  and  1546),  and 
many  others.  In  the  Bible  of  1555  he 
introduced  the  divisions  of  chapter  and 
verse,  which  are  still  used.  With  regard 
to  the  accuracy  of  his  proofs  we  are  told 
that  he  was  so  careful  as  to  hang  them 
up  in  some  place  of  public  resort,  and 
to  invite  the  corrections  of  the  learned 
scholars  who  collected  there.  At  Geneva 
his  printing-press  continued  to  pour  forth 
a  large  number  of  learned  works,  and 
after  his  death,  one  of  his  sons,  named 
Charles,  carried  on  the  business. 

Another    son     of     Robert     Stephens, 
named  Henry,  was  one  of  those  scholars 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     209 

who  have  ruined  themselves  by  their 
love  of  Hterature,  devoting  their  hves 
and  their  fortunes  to  the  production  of 
volumes  on  some  special  branch  of  study- 
in  which  only  a  few  learned  readers  are 
interested.  Hence,  while  they  earn  the 
gratitude  of  scholars  and  enrich  the  world 
of  literature  by  their  knowledge,  the  sale 
of  their  books  is  limited,  and  they  fail  to 
enrich  themselves.  The  Thesaurus  Lingua 
GrcBCce  cost  poor  Henry  Stephens  ten 
years  of  labour  and  nearly  all  his  fortune. 
This  is  a  very  valuable  work,  and  has 
proved  of  immense  service  to  subsequent 
generations  of  scholars.  A  second  edition 
was  published  in  London  in  18 15  in  seven 
folio  volum.es,  and  recently  another  edition 
has  appeared  in  Paris. 

One  of  his  works  aroused  the  indig- 
nation of  the  Parisian  authorities.  It  was 
entitled  Introduction  au  Traite  des  Mer- 
veilles  anciennes  avec  les  tnodernes,  ou  Traite 
preparatif  a  F Apologie  pour  Herodote,  par 
Henri  Estienne  (1566,  in-8).  This  work 
was  supposed  to  contain  insidious  attacks 
upon  the  monks  and  priests  and  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  comparing  the  fables  of 
Herodotus  with  the  teaching  of  Catholi- 
cism, and  holding  up  the  latter  to  ridicule. 
At  any  rate,  the  book  was  condemned  and 
its  author  burnt   in   effigy.     M.   Peignot 

14 


210     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

asserts  in  his  Didionnaire  Critique,  Litte- 
raire,  et  Bibliographique  that  it  was  this 
Henry  Stephens  who  uttered  the  bon  mot 
with  regard  to  his  never  feehng  so  cold  as 
when  his  effigy  was  being  burnt  and  he  him- 
self was  in  the  snowy  mountains  of  the 
Auvergne.  Other  authorities  attribute 
the  saying  to  his  father,  as  we  have  al- 
ready narrated. 

Noble  martyrs  Literature  has  had,  men 
who  have  sacrificed  ease,  comfort,  and 
every  earthly  advantage  for  her  sake,  and 
who  have  shared  with  Henry  Stephens 
the  direst  straits  of  poverty  brought 
about  by  the  ardour  of  their  love.  Such 
an  one  was  a  learned  divine,  Simon 
Ockley,  Vicar  of  Swavesey  in  1705,  and 
Professor  of  Arabic  at  Cambridge  in  1 7 1 1 , 
who  devoted  his  life  to  Asiatic  researches. 
This  study  did  not  prove  remunerative  : 
having  been  seized  for  debt,  he  was  con- 
fined in  Cambridge  Castle,  and  there 
finished  his  great  work,  The  History  of 
the  Saracens.  His  martyrdom  was  life- 
long, as  he  died  in  destitution,  having 
always  (to  use  his  own  words)  given  the 
possession  of  wisdom  the  preference  to 
that  of  riches.  Ployer  Sydenham,  who 
died  in  a  debtors'  prison  in  1788,  and 
incurred  his  hard  fate  through  devoting 
his  life  to  a  translation  of  the  Dialogues 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     2 1 1 

of  Plato,  was  another  martyr ;  from  whose 
ashes  arose  the  Royal  Literary  Fund, 
which  has  prevented  many  struggling 
authors  from  sharing  his  fate.  Seventeen 
long  years  of  labour,  besides  a  handsome 
fortune,  did  Edmund  Castell  spend  on  his 
Lexicon  Heptaglotton ;  but  a  thankless 
and  ungrateful  public  refused  to  relieve 
him  of  the  copies  of  this  learned  work, 
which  ruined  his  health  while  it  dissipated 
his  fortune.  These  are  only  a  few  names 
which  might  be  mentioned  out  of  the 
many.  What  a  noble  army  of  martyrs 
Literature  could  boast,  if  a  roll-call  were 
sounded  ! 

Amongst  our  booksellers  we  must  not 
omit  the  name  of  Page,  who  suffered  with 
John  Stubbs  in  the  market-place  at 
Westminster  on  account  of  the  latter's  work 
entitled  The  Discoverie  of  a  Gaping  Gulf 
wherei?ito  England  is  like  to  be  swallowed 
by  another  French  marriage,  if  the  Lord 
forbid  not  the  banes  by  letting  her  Majestie 
see  the  sin  and  punish  fuent  thereof  (1579)- 
Both  author  and  publisher  were  con- 
demned to  the  barbarous  penalty  of 
having  their  right  hands  cut  off,  as  we 
have  already  recorded.* 

"  Sturdy  John,"   as  the  people   called 

*  Cf.  page  129. 


212     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

John  Lilburne  of  Commonwealth  fame, 
was  another  purveyor  of  books  who 
suffered  severely  at  the  hands  of  both 
Royalists  and  Roundheads.  At  the  early 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  the  circulation 
of  the  books  of  Prynne  and  Bastwick, 
and  for  this  enormity  he  was  whipped 
from  the  Fleet  to  Westminster,  set  in  the 
pillory,  gagged,  fined,  and  imprisoned. 
At  a  later  stage  in  his  career  we  find  him 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower  by  Cromwell, 
for  \\\%  Just  Reproof  to  Haberdashers'  Hall, 
and  fined  ^i,ooo  :  and  his  bitter  attack 
on  the  Protector,  entitled  England's  New 
Ckai?is  Discovered,  caused  him  to  pay 
another  visit  to  the  Tower  and  to  be  tried 
for  high  treason,  of  which  he  was  subse- 
quently acquitted.  To  assail  the  "powers 
that  be  "  seemed  ever  to  be  the  constant 
occupation  of  "  Sturdy  John "  Lilburne. 
From  the  above  example,  and  from  many 
others  which  might  be  mentioned,  it  is 
quite  evident  that  Roundheads,  when 
they  held  the  power,  could  be  quite  as 
severe  critics  of  publications  obnoxious 
to  them  as  the  Royalists,  and  troublesome 
authors  fared  little  better  under  Puritan 
regime  than  they  did  under  the  Stuart 
monarchs. 

Another   learned    French   printer    was 
Etienne  Dolet,  w^ho  was  burned  to  death 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     213 

at  Paris  on  account  of  his  books  in  1546. 
He  lived  and  worked  at  Lyons,  and,  after 
the  manner  of  the  Stephens,  pubhshed 
many  of  his  own  writings  as  well  as  those 
of  other  learned  men.  He  applied  his 
energies  to  reform  the  Latin  style,  and  in 
addition  to  his  theological  and  linguistical 
works  cultivated  the  art  of  poetry.  Bayle 
says  that  his  Latin  and  French  verses 
"  are  not  amiss."  In  the  opinion  of 
Gruterus  they  are  worthy  of  a  place  in 
the  Delicice  Poetarum  Gallorujti ;  but  the 
impassioned  and  scurrilous  Scaliger,  who 
hated  Dolet,  declares  that  "  Dolet  may 
be  called  the  ]\Iuse's  Canker,  or  Impos- 
thume  ;  he  wildly  affects  to  be  absolute 
in  Poetry  without  the  least  pretence  to 
wit,  and  endeavours  to  make  his  own  base 
copper  pass  by  mixing  with  it  Virgil's  gold. 
A  driveller,  who  with  some  scraps  of  Cicero 
has  tagged  together  something,  which  he 
calls  Orations,  but  which  men  of  learning 
rather  judge  to  be  Latrations.  Whilst  he 
sung  the  fate  of  that  great  and  good  King 
Francis,  his  name  found  its  own  evil  fate, 
and  the  Atheist  suffered  the  punishment 
of  the  flames,  which  both  he  and  his 
verses  so  richly  merited.  But  the  flames 
could  not  purify  him,  but  were  by  him 
rather  made  impure.  Why  should  I  men- 
tion his  Epigrams,  which  are  but  a  com- 


214     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

nion  sink  or  shore  of  dull,  cold,  unmeaning 
trash,  full  of  that  thoughtless  arrogance 
that  braves  the  Almighty,  and  that  denies 
His  Being  ? "  The  conclusion  of  this 
scathing  criticism  is  hardly  meet  for  polite 
ears.  A  private  wrong  had  made  the 
censorious  Scaliger  more  bitter  than  usual. 
In  spite  of  the  protection  of  Castellan,  a 
learned  prelate,  Dolet  at  length  suffered 
in  the  flames,  but  whether  the  charge  of 
Atheism  was  well  grounded  has  never  been 
clearly  ascertained. 

Certainly  the  pious  prayer  which  he 
uttered,  when  the  faggots  were  piled 
around  him,  would  seem  to  exonerate  him 
from  such  a  charge  :  "My  God,  whom  I 
have  so  often  offended,  be  merciful  to  me  ; 
and  I  beseech  you,  O  Virgin  Mother,  and 
you,  divine  Stephen,  to  intercede  with  God 
for  me  a  sinner."  The  Parliament  of 
Paris  condemned  his  works  as  containing 
"  damnable,  pernicious,  and  heretical 
doctrines."  The  Faculty  of  Theology 
censured  very  severely  Dolet's  translation 
of  one  of  the  Dialogues  of  Plato,  entitled 
Axiochus,  and  especially  the  passage 
"  Apres  la  mort,  tu  ne  seras  rien,"  which 
Dolet  rendered,  "  Apres  la  mort,  tu  ne 
seras  plus  rien  du  toutP  The  additional 
words  were  supposed  to  convict  Dolet 
of    heresy.       He    certainly   disliked    the 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     215 

monks,  as  the  following  epigram  plainly 
declares  : — 

Ad  Nicolaunt  Fabrichim  Valestum 
De  cucullatis. 

"  Incurvicervicum  cucullatorum  habet 
Grex  id  subinde  in  ore,  se  esse  mortuum 
Mundo  :  tamen  edit  eximie  pecus,  bibit 
Non  pessime,  stertit  sepultum  crapula, 
Operam  veneri  dat,  et  voluptatum  assecla 
Est  omnium.     Idne  est  mortuum  esse  mundo? 
Aliter  interpretare.     Mortui  sunt  Hercule 
Mundo  cucullati,  quod  inors  terrae  sunt  onus, 
Ad  rem  utiles  nullam,  nisi  ad  scelus  et  vitium." 

Amongst  the  works  published  and 
written  by  Dolet  may  be  mentioned  : — 

Summaire  desfaits  etgestes  de  Francois  /., 
tant  contre  I'Empereur  que  ses  sujets,  et 
aiitres  nations  etrangeres,  composes  d'abord 
en  latin  par  Dolet.,  puis  translates  en/ran- 
fais  par  lui-uieme.  Lyon,  Etienne  Dolet, 
1540,  in-^. 

Siephani  Doleti  Carminum,  Libri  IV. 
Lugduni,  1538,  ifi-^. 

Brief  Discours  de  la  republique  fra^icoyse, 
desirant  la  lecture  des  livres  de  FEcriture 
saincte  luy  estre  loisable  en  sa  langue  vul- 
gaire.     Etienne  Dolet,  ^544;  in-16. 

Lafontaine  de  vie,  in-16. 

Several  translations  into  French  of  the 
writings  of  Erasmus  and  Melanchthon  may 


2i6     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

also  be  remembered,  and  the  Geneva 
Bible,  which  was  printed  by  Dolet. 

One  of  the  few  remaining  copies  of 
Cymbaluni  fiiundi,  en  francais,  contenant 
quatre  Dialogues poetiques,  antiques,  joyeux, 
ef  facetieux,  par  Thomas  Duclevier  ( Bona- 
venture  Desperiers,  Valet  de  chambre  de  la 
Reyne  de  Navarre)  (Paris,  Jehan  Morin, 
15375  in-8)  reveals  the  fact  that  the  printer, 
Jean  Morin,  was  imprisoned  on  account 
of  this  work.  Therein  it  is  recorded  that 
he  presented  the  copy  to  the  Chancellor 
with  the  request  that  he  might  be  released 
from  prison,  where  he  had  been  placed  on 
account  of  this  work.  The  reasons  given 
for  its  condemnation  are  various.  Some 
state  that  the  author,  a  friend  of  Clement 
Marot,  intended  to  preach  by  the  use  of 
allegories  the  Reformed  religion.  Others 
say  that  it  was  directed  against  the  man- 
ners and  conduct  of  some  members  of  the 
Court.  Whether  Morin's  request  was 
granted  I  know  not,  nor  whether  Des- 
periers  shared  his  imprisonment.  At  any 
rate,  the  author  died  in  1544  from  an 
attack  of  frenzy. 

Another  famous  printer  at  Paris  in  the 
sixteenth  century  was  Christian  Wechel, 
who  published  a  large  number  of  works. 
He  was  persecuted  for  publishing  a  book 
of   Erasmus    entitled    De   esu    interdido 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     217 

carnhim,  and  some  declare  that  he  fell 
into  grievous  poverty,  being  cursed  by 
God  for  printing  an  impious  book.  Thus 
one  writer  says  that  "in  the  year  1530 
arose  this  abortive  child  of  hell,  who 
wrote  a  book  against  the  Divine  Justice 
in  favour  of  infants  dying  without 
baptism,  and  several  have  wisely  ob- 
served that  the  ruin  of  Christian  Wechel 
and  his  labours  fell  out  as  a  punishment 
for  his  presses  and  characters  being 
employed  in  such  an  infamous  work." 
However,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  book  was  not  so  "  impious,"  express- 
ing only  the  pious  hope  that  the  souls 
of  such  infants  might  not  be  lost,  and 
also  that  no  great  "curse"  fell  upon  the 
printer,  and  that  his  poverty  was  apo- 
cryphal. At  any  rate,  his  son  Andrew 
was  a  very  flourishing  printer ;  but  he 
too  was  persecuted  for  his  religious 
opinions,  and  narrowly  escaped  destruc- 
tion in  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
He  ran  in  great  danger  on  that  eventful 
night,  and  states  that  he  would  have 
been  slaughtered  but  for  the  kindness 
of  Hubert  Languet,  who  lodged  in  his 
house.  Andrew  Wechel  fled  to  Frank- 
fort, v/here  he  continued  to  ply  his  trade 
in  safety ;  and  when  more  favourable 
times  came  re-established  his  presses  at 


2i8     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Paris.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  the  most  able  printers  and  book- 
sellers of  his  time. 

The  Revolutionary  period  in  France 
was  not  a  safe  time  for  either  authors 
or  booksellers.  Jacques  Froulle  was  con- 
demned to  death  in  1793  for  publishing 
the  lists  of  names  of  those  who  passed 
sentence  on  their  King,  Louis  XVI.,  and 
doomed  him  to  death.  This  work  was 
entitled  Liste  comparative  des  cinq  appels 
nominaux  sur  le  proces  et  Jiigemenf  de 
Lotiis  XVI.,  avec  les  declarations  que  les 
Deputes  out  faites  a  chacune  des  seances 
(Paris,  Froulle,  1793,  in-8).  He  gives  the 
names  of  the  deputies  who  voted  on  each 
of  the  five  appeals,  until  at  length  the 
terrible  sentence  was  pronounced,  310 
voting  for  the  reprieve  and  380  for  the 
execution  of  their  monarch.  The 
deputies  were  so  ashamed  of  their  work 
that  they  doomed  the  recorder  of  their 
infamous  deed  to  share  the  punishment 
of  their  sovereign. 

We  have  few  instances  of  the  illustra- 
tors of  books  sharing  the  misfortunes  of 
authors  and  publishers,  but  we  have 
met  with  one  such  example.  Nicolas 
Godonesche  made  the  engravings  for  a 
work  by  Jean  Laurent  Boursier,  a  doctor 
of    the    Sorbonne,    entitled    Explication 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     219 

abr'eg'ee  des  principales  questions  qui  ont 
rapport  aux  affaires  presetttes  (1731,111-12), 
and  found  that  work  fatal  to  him.  This 
book  was  one  of  many  published  by 
Boursier  concerning  the  unhappy  con- 
tentions which  for  a  long  time  agitated 
the  Church  of  France.  Godonesche, 
who  engraved  pictures  for  the  work,  was 
sent  to  the  Bastille,  and  the  author 
banished. 

In  all  ages  complaints  are  heard  of  the 
proHfic  writers  who  have  been  seized  by 
the  scribbling  demon,  and  made  to  pour 
forth  page  after  page  which  the  public 
decline  to  read,  and  bring  grief  to  the 
publishers.  Pasquier's  Letters  contains 
the  following  passage,  which  applies  per- 
haps quite  as  forcibly  to  the  present  age 
as  to  his  own  time :  "  I  cannot  forbear 
complaining  at  this  time  of  the  calamity 
of  this  age  which  has  produced  such  a 
plenty  of  reputed  or  untimely  authors. 
Any  pitiful  scribbler  will  have  his  first 
thoughts  to  come  to  light ;  lest,  being  too 
long  shut  up,  they  should  grow  musty. 
Good  God  !  how  apposite  are  these  verses 
of  Jodelle : — 

'■ '  Et  tant  ceux  d'aujourd'huj'  me  fashent, 
Qui  des  lors  que  leurs  plumes  laschent 
Quelque-trait  soit  mauvais  ou  bon, 
En  lumiere  le  vont  produire, 


220     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Pour  souvent  avec  leur  renom, 

Les  pauvres  Imprimeurs  destruire.'  " 

This  has  been  translated  as  follows  : — 

"  The  scribbling  crew  would  make  one's  vitals 

bleed, 
They   write   such    trash,    no   mortal   e'er   will 

read; 
Yet  they  will  publish,  they  must  have  a  name  ; 
So  Printers  starve,  to  get  their  authors  fame." 

One  would  be  curious  to  see  the  form 
of  agreement  between  such  prolific  authors 
and  their  deluded  publishers,  and  to 
learn  by  what  arts,  other  than  magical, 
the  former  ever  induced  the  latter  to 
undertake  the  publication  of  such  fatal 
books. 

The  story  of  the  establishment  of  the 
liberty  of  the  Press  in  England  is  full  of 
interest,  and  tells  the  history  of  several 
books  which  involved  their  authors  and 
publishers  in  many  difficulties.  The 
censors  of  books  did  not  always  occupy 
an  enviable  post,  and  were  the  objects  of 
many  attacks.  "  Catalogue  "  Fraser  lost 
his  office  for  daring  to  license  Walker's 
book  on  the  Eikon  Bus  Hike,  which 
asserted  that  Gauden  and  not  Charles  I. 
was  the  author.  His  successor  Bohun 
was  deprived  of  his  office  as  licenser  and 
sent  to  prison  for  allowing  a  pamphlet  to  ■ 
be    printed    entitled   Kitig    William   and 


Booksellers  and  Publishers.     221 

Queen  Mary,  Conquerors.  The  Jacobite 
printers  suffered  severely  when  they  were 
caught,  which  was  not  very  frequent.  In 
obscure  lanes  and  garrets  they  pHed  their 
secret  trade,  and  deluged  the  land  with 
seditious  books  and  papers.  One  William 
Anderton  was  tracked  to  a  house  near 
St.  James's  Street,  where  he  was  known 
as  a  jeweller.  Behind  the  bed  in  his 
room  was  discovered  a  door  which  led  to 
a  dark  closet,  and  there  were  the  types 
and  a  press,  and  heaps  of  Jacobite  litera- 
ture. Anderton  was  found  guilty  of 
treason,  and  paid  the  penalty  of  death  for 
his  crime.  In  1695  the  Press  was  eman- 
cipated from  its  thraldom,  and  the  office 
of  licenser  ceased  to  exist.  Henceforward 
popular  judgment  and  the  general  good 
sense  and  right  feeling  of  the  community 
constituted  the  only  licensing  authority  of 
the  Press  of  England.  Occasionally,  when 
a  publisher  or  author  makes  too  free 
with  the  good  name  of  an  English  citizen, 
the  restraint  of  a  prison  cell  is  imposed 
upon  the  audacious  libeller.  Sometimes 
when  a  book  offends  against  the  public 
morals,  and  contains  the  outpourings  of 
a  voluptuous  imagination,  its  author  is 
condemned  to  lament  in  confinement 
over  his  indecorous  pages.  The  world 
knows  that  Vizetelly,   the  publisher,  was 


222     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

imprisoned  for  translating  and  publish- 
ing some  of  Zola's  novels.  Nana  and 
L'Assoin/noir  were  indeed  fatal  books 
to  him,  as  his  imprisonment  and  the 
anxiety  caused  by  the  prosecution  are 
said  to  have  hastened  his  death.  The 
right  feeling  and  sound  sense  of  the 
nation  has  guided  the  Press  of  this  country 
into  safe  channels,  and  few  books  are 
fatal  now  on  account  of  their  unseemly 
contents  or  immoral  tendencies. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
Some  Literary  Martyrs. 


Leland — Str utt —  Cotgrave  —  Henry  Wharton  — 
Robert  Heron  —  Collins  —  William  Cole  — 
Homeric  victims — Joshua  Barnes — An  ex- 
ample   of  unrequited    toil  —  Borgarutius — 

Fays. 

[E  have  still  a  list  far  too  long  of 
literary  martyrs  whose  works  have 
proved  fatal  to  them,  and  yet 
whose  names  have  not  appeared 
in  the  foregoing  chapters.  These  are 
they  who  have  sacrificed  their  lives,  their 
health  and  fortunes,  for  the  sake  of  their 
works,  and  who  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  saying  of  a  professional  hack  writer, 
"  Till  fame  appears  to  be  worth  more  than 
money,  I  shall  always  prefer  money  to 
fame."  For  the  labours  of  their  lives 
they  have  received  no  compensation  at 
all.  Health,  eyesight,  and  even  life  ifself 
have  been  devoted  to  the  service  of  man- 
kind, who  have  shown  themselves  some- 
what ungrateful  recipients  of  their  bounty. 
223 


224     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

Some  of  the  more  illustrious  scholars 
indeed  enjoy  a  posthumous  fame, — their 
names  are  still  honoured  ;  their  works  are 
still  read  and  studied  by  the  learned, — 
but  what  countless  multitudes  are  those 
who  have  sacrificed  their  all,  and  yet 
slumber  in  nameless  graves,  the  ocean  of 
oblivion  having  long  since  washed  out  the 
footprints  they  hoped  to  leave  upon  the 
shifting  sands  of  Time  !  Of  these  we 
have  no  record ;  let  us  enumerate  a  few 
of  the  scholars  of  an  elder  age  whose 
books  proved  fatal  to  them,  and  whose 
sorrows  and  early  deaths  were  brought  on 
by  their  devotion  to  literature. 

What  antiquary  has  not  been  grateful 
to  Leland,  the  father  of  English  archae- 
ology !  He  possessed  that  ardent  love  for 
the  records  of  the  past  which  must  inspire 
the  heart  and  the  pen  of  every  true  anti- 
quary ;  that  accurate  learning  and  inde- 
fatigable spirit  of  research  without  which 
the  historian,  however  zealous,  must  in- 
evitably err ;  and  that  sturdy  patriotism 
which  led  him  to  prefer  the  study  of  the 
past  glories  of  his  own  to  those  of  any 
other  people  or  land.  His  Cygnca  Cafitio 
will  live  as  long  as  the  silvery  Thames, 
whose  glories  he  loved  to  sing,  pursues  its 
beauteous  way  through  the  loveliest  vales 
of  England.      While    his    royal,   patron. 


Some  Literary  Martyrs.        225 

Henry  VIII.,  lived,  all  went  well;  after 
the  death  of  that  monarch  his  anxieties 
and  troubles  began.  His  pension  became 
smaller,  and  at  length  ceased.  No  one 
seemed  to  appreciate  his  toil.  He  became 
melancholy  and  morose,  and  the  effect  of 
nighdy  vigils  and  years  of  toil  began  to 
tell  upon  his  constitution.  At  length  his 
mind  gave  way,  ere  yet  the  middle  stage 
of  life  was  passed  ;  and  although  many 
other  famous  antiquaries  have  followed 
his  steps  and  profited  by  his  writings  and 
his  example,  English  scholars  will  ever 
mourn  the  sad  and  painful  end  of  unhappy 
Leland. 

Another  antiquary  was  scarcely  more 
fortunate.  Strutt,  the  author  of  English 
Sports  and  Pastimes,  whose  works  every 
student  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
our  forefathers  has  read  and  delighted  in, 
passed  his  days  in  poverty  and  obscurity, 
and  often  received  no  recompense  for  the 
works  which  are  now  so  valuable.  At 
least  he  had  his  early  wish  gratified, — 
"  I  will  strive  to  leave  my  name  behind 
me  in  the  world,  if  not  in  the  splendour 
that  some  have,  at  least  with  some  marks 
of  assiduity  and  study  which  shall  never 
be  wanting  in  me." 

Randle  Cotgrave,  the  compiler  of  one 
of  the  most  valuable  dictionaries  of  early 

^5 


226    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

English  words,  lost  his  eyesight  through 
laboriously  studying  ancient  MSS.  in  his 
pursuit  of  knowledge.  The  sixteen  volumes 
of  MS.  preserved  in  the  Lambeth  Library 
of  English  literature  killed  their  author, 
Henry  Wharton,  before  he  reached  his 
thirtieth  year.  By  the  indiscreet  exertion 
of  his  mind,  in  protracted  and  incessant 
literary  labours,  poor  Robert  Heron  de- 
stroyed his  health,  and  after  years  of  toil 
spent  in  producing  volumes  so  numerous 
and  so  varied  as  to  stagger  one  to  contem- 
plate, ended  his  days  in  Newgate.  In  his 
pathetic  appeal  for  help  to  the  Literary 
Fund,  wherein  he  enumerates  the  labours 
of  his  life,  he  wrote,  "  I  shudder  at  the 
thought  of  perishing  in  gaol."  And  yet  that 
was  the  fate  of  Heron,  a  man  of  amazing 
industry  and  vast  learning  and  ability,  a 
martyr  to  literature. 

He  has  unhappily  many  companions, 
whose  names  appear  upon  that  mournful 
roll  of  luckless  authors.  There  is  the 
unfortunate  poet  Collins,  who  was  driven 
insane  by  the  disappointment  attending 
his  unremunerative  toil,  and  the  want  of 
public  appreciation  of  his  verses.  William 
Cole,  the  writer  of  fifty  volumes  in  MS. 
of  the  Athena;  Cantadrigienses,  founded 
upon  the  same  principle  as  the  Athena 
Oxonienses   of  Anthony  Wood,   lived    to 


Some  Literary  Martyrs.        227 

see  his  hopes  of  fame  die,  and  yet  to  feel 
that  he  could  not  abandon  his  self-imposed 
task,  as  that  would  be  death  to  him. 
Homer,  tob,  has  had  some  victims  ;  and 
if  he  has  suffered  from  translation,  he  has 
revenged  himself  on  his  translators.  A 
learned  writer,  Joshua  Barnes,  Professor 
of  Greek  at  Cambridge,  devoted  his  whole 
energy  to  the  task,  and  ended  his  days  in 
abject  poverty,  disgusted  with  the  scanty 
rewards  his  great  industry  and  scholarship 
had  attained.  A  more  humble  translator, 
a  chemist  of  Reading,  published  an  English 
version  of  the  IHad.  The  fascination  of 
the  work  drew  him  away  from  his  busi- 
ness, and  caused  his  ruin.  A  clergyman 
died  a  few  years  ago  who  had  devoted 
many  years  to  a  learned  Biblical  Com- 
mentary ;  it  was  the  work  of  his  life,  and 
contained  the  results  of  much  original 
research.  After  his  death  his  effects  were 
sold,  and  with  them  the  precious  MS., 
the  result  of  so  many  hours  of  patient 
labour ;  this  MS.  realised  three  shillings 
and  sixpence  ! 

Fatal  indeed  have  their  works  and  love 
of  Hterature  proved  to  be  to  many  a  luck- 
less author.  No  wonder  that  many  of 
them  have  vowed,  like  Borgarutius,  that 
they  would  write  no  more  nor  spend  their 
life-blood  for  the  sake  of  so  fickle  a  mis- 


228     Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

tress,  or  so  thankless  a  public.  This 
author  was  so  troubled  by  the  difificulties 
he  encountered  in  printing  his  book  on 
Anatomy,  that  he  made  the  rash  vow  that 
he  would  never  publish  anything  more ; 
but,  like  many  other  authors,  he  broke 
his  word.  Poets  are  especially  liable  to 
this  change  of  intention,  as  La  Fontaine 
observes : — 

"O!  combien  rhomme  est  inconstant,  divers, 
Foible,  leger,  tenant  mal  sa  parole, 
J'avois  jure,  meme  en  assez  beaux  vers, 
De  renouncer  a  tout  Conte  frivole. 
Depuis  deux  jours  j'ai  fait  cette  promesse 
Puis  fiez-vous  a  Rimeur  qui  repond 
D'un  seul  moment.     Dieu  ne  fit  la  sagesse 
Pour  les  cerveaux  qui  hantent  les  neuf  Soeurs." 

In  these  days  of  omnivorous  readers, 
the  position  of  authors  has  decidedly  im- 
proved. We  no  longer  see  the  half-starved 
poets  bartering  their  sonnets  for  a  meal, 
learned  scholars  pining  in  Newgate ;  nor 
is  "half  the  pay  of  a  scavenger"*  con- 
sidered sufficient  remuneration  for  recon- 
dite treatises.  It  has  been  the  fashion 
of  authors  of  all  ages  to  complain  bitterly 
of  their  own  times.  Bayle  calls  it  an 
epidemical  disease  in  the  republic  of 
letters,  and  poets  seem  especially  liable 

*  A  remark  of  Granger — vide  Calamities  of 
Authors,  p.  85. 


Some  Literary  Martyrs.        229 

to  this  complaint.  Usually  those  who 
are  most  favoured  by  fortune  bewail  their 
fate  with  vehemence  ;  while  poor  and  un- 
fortunate authors  write  cheerfully.  To 
judge  from  his  writings  one  would  imagine 
that  Balzac  pined  in  poverty;  whereas 
he  was  living  in  the  greatest  luxury,  sur- 
rounded by  friends  who  enjoyed  his 
hospitality.  Oftentimes  this  language  of 
complaint  is  a  sign  of  the  ingratitude  of 
authors  towards  their  age,  rather  than  a 
testimony  of  the  ingratitude  of  the  age 
towards  authors.  Thus  did  the  French 
poet  Pays  abuse  his  fate :  "  I  was  born 
under  a  certain  star,  whose  malignity 
cannot  be  overcome ;  and  I  am  so  per- 
suaded of  the  power  of  this  malevolent 
star,  that  I  accuse  it  of  all  misfortunes, 
and  I  never  lay  the  fault  upon  anybody." 
He  has  courted  Fortune  in  vain.  She 
will  have  nought  to  do  with  his  addresses, 
and  it  would  be  just  as  foolish  to  afflict 
oneself  because  of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun 
or  moon,  as  to  be  grieved  on  account  of 
the  changes  which  Fortune  is  pleased  to 
cause.  Many  other  writers  speak  in  the 
same  fretful  strain.  There  is  now  work 
in  the  vast  field  of  literature  for  all  who 
have  the  taste,  ability,  and  requisite  know- 
ledge ;  and  few  authors  now  find  their 
books  fatal  to  them — except  perhaps  to 


230    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

their  reputation,  when  they  deserve  the 
critics'  censures.  The  writers  of  novels 
certainly  have  no  cause  to  complain  of 
the  unkindness  of  the  public  and  their 
lack  of  appreciation,  and  the  vast  numbers 
of  novels  which  are  produced  every  year 
would  have  certainly  astonished  the  readers 
of  thirty  or  forty  years  ago. 

For  the  production  of  learned  works 
which  appeal  only  to  a  few  scholars, 
modern  authors  have  the  aid  of  the 
Clarendon  Press  and  other  institutions 
which  are  subsidised  by  the  Universities 
for  the  purpose  of  publishing  such  works. 
But  in  spite  of  all  the  advantages  which 
modern  authors  enjoy,  the  great  demand 
for  literature  of  all  kinds,  the  justice  and 
fair  dealing  of  publishers,  the  adequate 
remuneration  which  is  usually  received 
for  their  works,  the  favourable  laws  of 
copyright — in  spite  of  all  these  and  other 
advantages,  the  lamentable  woes  of  authors 
have  not  yet  ceased.  The  leaders  of 
literature  can  hold  their  own,  and  prosper 
well ;  but  the  men  who  stand  in  the 
second,  third,  or  fourth  rank  in  the  great 
literary  army,  have  still  cause  to  bewail 
the  unkindness  of  the  blind  goddess  who 
contrives  to  see  sufficiently  to  avoid  all 
their  approaches  to  her. 

For  these  brave,  but  often  disheartened. 


Some  Literary  Martyrs.        231 

toilers  that  noble  institution,  the  Royal 
Literary  Fund,  has  accomplished  great 
things.  During  a  period  of  more  than  a 
century  it  has  carried  on  its  beneficent 
work,  relieving  poor  struggling  authors 
when  poverty  and  sickness  have  laid  them 
low;  and  it  has  proved  itself  to  be  a 
"  nursing  mother  "  to  the  wives  and  chil- 
dren of  literary  martyrs  who  have  been 
quite  unable  to  provide  for  the  wants  of 
their  distressed  families.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  the  foundation  of  the  Royal 
Literary  Fund,  which  arose  from  the  feel- 
ings of  pity  and  regret  excited  by  the  death 
of  Floyer  Sydenham  in  a  debtors'  prison. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  record  its  history,  its 
noble  career  of  unobtrusive  usefulness  in 
saving  from  ruin  and  ministering  consola- 
tion to  those  unhappy  authors  who  have 
been  wounded  in  the  world's  warfare,  and 
who,  but  for  the  Literary  Fund,  would 
have  been  left  to  perish  on  the  hard  battle- 
field of  life.  Since  its  foundation  ^115,677 
has  been  spent  in  4,332  grants  to  distressed 
authors.  All  book-lovers  will,  we  doubt 
not,  seek  to  help  forward  this  noble  work, 
and  will  endeavour  to  prevent,  as  far  as 
possible,  any  more  distressing  cases  of 
literary  martyrdom,  which  have  so  often 
stained  the  sad  pages  of  our  literary 
history. 


232    Books  Fatal  to  their  Authors. 

In  order  to  diminish  the  woes  of  authors 
and  to  help  the  maimed  and  wounded 
warriors  in  the  service  of  Literature,  we 
should  like  to  rear  a  large  Literary  College, 
where  those  who  have  borne  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day  may  rest  secure  from 
all  anxieties  and  worldly  worries  when 
the  evening  shadows  of  life  fall  around. 
Possibly  the  authorities  of  the  Royal 
Literary  Fund  might  be  able  to  accomplish 
this  grand  enterprise.  In  imagination  we 
seem  to  see  a  noble  building  like  an 
Oxford  College,  or  the  Charterhouse, 
wherein  the  veterans  of  Literature  can  live 
and  work  and  end  their  days,  free  from 
the  perplexities  and  diiificulties  to  which 
poverty  and  distress  have  so  long  accus- 
tomed them.  There  is  a  Library,  rich 
with  the  choicest  works.  The  Historian, 
the  Poet,  the  Divine,  the  Scientist,  can 
here  pursue  their  studies,  and  breathe 
forth  inspired  thoughts  which  the  res 
angusta  donii  have  so  long  stifled.  In 
society  congenial  to  their  tastes,  far  from 
"the  madding  crowd's  ignoble  strife," 
they  may  succeed  in  accomplishing  their 
life's  work,  and  their  happiness  would  be 
the  happiness  of  the  community. 

If  this  be  but  a  dream,  it  is  a  pleasant 
one.  But  if  all  book-lovers  would  unite 
for  the  purpose  of  founding  such  a  Literary 


Some  Literary  Martyrs.        233 

College,  it  might  be  possible  for  the  dream 
to  be  realised.  Then  the  woes  of  future 
generations  of  authors  might  be  effectually 
diminished,  and  Fatal  Books  have  less 
unhappy  victims. 


INDEX. 


Abelard,  Canon  of  Notre  Dame,  40-43. 

Agrippa,  Henry  Cornelius,  astrologer,  61-66. 

Alexandre,  Noel,  Church  historian,  103. 

Anderton,  William,  Jacobite  printer,  221. 

Aretino,  Pietro,  satirist,  153-156. 

Arlotto  of  Padua,  historian,  107. 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  disciple  of  Abelard,  43. 

Arthington,  pamphleteer,  126. 

Ascoli,  Cecco  d",  poet,  172,  173. 

Athos,  Monks  of  Mount,  Ouietists,  5. 

Audra,  Joseph,  historian,  in,  112. 

Bacon,  Roger,  philosopher,  78. 
Balzac,  pretended  poverty  of,  229. 
Barnes,  Joshua,  translator,  227. 
Baronius,  Caesar,  Church  historian,  97-99. 
Barral,  L'Abbe,  his  opinion  of  Fenelon,  199. 
Barrow,  pamphleteer,   126. 

Bastwick,  pamphleteer,  attacked  Laud,  132,  i'- 
Bede,  Noel,  controversialist,  16,  17. 
235 


236  Index. 

Bekker,  Balthazar,  opponent  of  demoniacal  pos- 
session, 88-90. 

Berruyer,  Isaac  Joseph,  Jesuit  historian,  100. 

Beverland,  Adrian,  poet,  170-172. 

Biddle,  John,  Socinian  and  Unitarian,  53-56. 

Billard,  Pierre,  satirised  Jesuits,  153. 

Boccalini,  Trajan,  Italian  satirist,  152,  153. 

Bogarutius,  anatomist,  227,  228. 

Bohun,  censor,  220. 

Bonfadio,  Jacopo,  Genoese  historian,  107,  108. 

Borri,  Joseph  Francis,  charlatan,  66-68. 

Boursier,  Jean  Laurent,  controversialist,  218, 
219. 

Bruccioli,  Antonio,  translator,  22,  23. 

Bruno,  Jbrdano,  philosopher  and  atheist,  81-83. 

Bruto,  John  Michael,  Florentine  historian,  99, 
100. 

Buchanan,  George,  poet,  173-175. 

Burton,  attacked  Laud,  132. 

Bussy,  Roger  Rabutin  de,  satirist,  149-151. 

Campanella,  Thomas,  philosopher  and   atheist, 

83-86. 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  an  example  of  energy,  118. 
Carpzov,  Samuel  Benedict,  libelled  Riidiger,  1 15. 
Carranza,  Bartholomew,  Archbishop  of  Toledo, 

6-8. 
Cartwright,  pamphleteer,  126. 
Castell,  Edmund,  polyglot,  211. 
Caveirac,  L'Abbe,  Jesuit  defender,  145. 
Cinelli,  John  Giovanni,  satirist,  156,  157. 
Clarke,  Samuel,  philosopher  and  theologian,  9,  10. 


Index.  237 

Cole,  William,  author  of  Athenae  Catifabrigienses, 

226,  227. 
Collins,  poet,  226. 
Coppinger,  pamphleteer,  126. 
Cotgrave,  Randle,  lexicographer,  225,  226. 
Cowell,    Dr.,    supporter    of  absolute    monarchy, 

126-128. 
Cowley,  Abraham,  dramatist,  191,  192. 
Crebillon,  the  younger,  dramatist,  194. 

Danchet,  Antoine,  dramatist,  192-194. 

Darigrand,  ^.nihor  oi  L' Anti-Financier,  I46. 

Darrell,  John,  cleric  and  demonologist,  74,  75. 

Dassy,  satirist,  151,  152. 

David,  Francis,  theologian,  lo,  11. 

Dee,  Dr.,  alchemist,  71-74. 

Defoe,  Daniel,  satirical  writer,  165,  166. 

Deforges,  poet,  1 79-181. 

Delaune,  author  of  .^  Plea  for  the  Nonconformists, 

135.  136. 
Diderot,  Denis,  collaborateur  of  D'Alembert,  87. 
Doleman,  printer,  130. 

Dolet,  Etienne,  printer  and  author,  212-215. 
Dominis,  Antonio    de,   Archbishop   of  Spalatro. 

II-16. 
Dort,  Synod  of,  some  of  its  proceedings,  25,  26. 
Drj'ander,  nom-de-plume  of  Enzinas,  23. 
Drj'ander,  John,  brother  of  Enzinas,  23. 
Dupin,  Louis  Elias,  Church  historian,  101-103. 
Durosoi,  editor,  166. 

Edzardt,  Sebastian,  theologian,  36,  37. 


238  Index. 

Enzinas,  Spanish  translator,  23. 
Estienne,  sec  Stephanus,  206-208. 

Falkemberg,  John  de,  fanatic,  141. 

Felbinger,  Jeremiah,  Unitarian,  49,  50. 

Fenelon,    Francois  de   la  Molhe,   Archbishop  of 

Cambrai,  195-199. 
Fisher,  John,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  opponent  ot 

royal  divorce,  120- 122. 
Fontaine,  Nicolas,  coUaborateur  of  Le  Maistre,  24. 
Francus,  Nicholas,  poet,  157-160. 
Eraser,  "  Catalogue,"  censor,  220. 
Frischlin,  Nicodemus,  poet,  175-177. 
Froulle,  Jacques,  bookseller,  218. 
Fust,  John,  printer,  203. 

Gacon,  Francois,  poet  and  satirist,  163,  164. 
Galileo,    "father    of   experimental    philosophy,' 

79,  80. 
Genebrard,  Gilbert,  controversialist,  in. 
Giannone,  Peter,  Italian  historian,  1 04- 106. 
Godonesche,  Nicolas,  engraver,  218. 
Grafton,   Richard,  printer  of  Coverdale's  Bible, 

203,  204. 
Grandier,   Urban,  cure  of  London,   opponent  of 

celibacy  of  clergy,  68-71. 
Greenwood,  pamphleteer,  126. 
Grotius,  historian  25,  26. 

Hacket,  pamphleteer,  126. 

Hales,  John,  pamphleteer,  130. 

Harsnett,  Bishop,  the  exposer  of  Darrell,  74. 

Hartley,  exorcist,  friend  of  Darrell,  74. 


Index.  239 

Haudicquer,  genealogist,  115,  116. 
Helot,  poet,  182,  183. 
Hemmerlin,  Felix,  satirist,  156. 
Heron,  Robert,  voluminous  author,  226. 
Histrioniastix,  1 3 1 . 
Homeric  victims,  227. 

Huss,  John,  reformer  and  martyr,  his  writings, 
21,  22. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  divine,  author  of  Julian   the 
Apostate,  136,  137. 

Keats,  poet,  Endymion  cruelly  reviewed,    187, 

188. 
Kelly,  Edward,  necromancer,   friend  of  Dr.  Dee, 

72. 
Kuhlmann,    Quirinus,     "  Prince     of     Fanatics," 

45-48. 

La  Beaumelle,  Laurence  de.  Memoirs  of  Madame 

de  Maintenon,  112. 
La  Grange,  poet,  184,  185. 
La  Peyrere,  Isaac  de,  ethnologist,  90,  91. 
Le    Courayer,    Pierre    Francois    Canon    of    St. 

Augustine,  29. 
Leighton,    Dr.,    author   of  Syotis   Plea   against 

Prelacy,  128. 
Leland,  archaeologist,  224,  225. 
Le    Maistre,     Louis,    Janseni.st    and     translator, 

23,  24. 
Lenoir,    Jean,    Canon   of   Seez,   political   writer, 

143.  144- 


240  Index. 

Liesvelt,  Jacob  van,  Dutch  printer,  205. 
Lilburne,  "  Honest  John,"  bookseller  and  author, 

211,  212. 
Linguet,  Simon,  political  writer,  144,  145. 
de  Lisle  de  Sales,  philosopher,  86,  87. 
Liszinski  Cazimir,  Polish  atheist,  51. 
Literary  College,  ideal,  232. 
Literary  Fund,  Royal,  211-231. 
Lufftius,  John,  printer  of  Wurtemburg,  205,  206. 
Lyra,     Nicholas     de,     commentator,    ruins    his 

printers,  201. 
Lyser,  John,  advocate  of  polygamy,  56,  57. 

Maffei,  Raphael,  his  epigram  on  Valla,  161.  162. 
Maggi,  Jerome,  Venetian  statesman,  142,  143. 
Maintenon,  Madame  de,  Memoirs,  112. 
Mariana,  John,  Spanish  historian,  112,  113. 
Marolles,  L'Abbe  de  translator,  91. 
Marot,  Clement,   poet,   versifier  of  Psalms,   177, 

178. 
Marprelate,     Martin,    noni-dc-plume    of    various 

Puritan  authors,  124,  125. 
Melanchthon,     reformer,    works    published     by 

Peucer,  25. 
Molinos,  Michael,  Spanish  theologian,  3-5. 
Montague,  Lord,  victim  of  Reginald  Pole's  book, 

123. 
Montanus,    Arius,   translator  of   Polyglot    Bible, 

20,  21. 
Montgomery,  James,  poet,  185.  186, 
Morin,  Jean,  printer,  216. 
Morin,  Simon,  fanatic,  50,  51. 


Index.  241 

NoGARET,  novelist,  195. 

Nordemann,  follower  of  Kuhlmann,  47. 

OcHiNO,  Bernardino,  a   Franciscan,   advocate  oi 

polygamy,  57,  58. 
Ockham,  William  of,  "The  Invincible  Doctor," 

37-40. 
Ockley,  Simon,  Vicar  of  Swavesey,  210. 
Ovid,  poet,  exiled  by  Cassar,  170. 

Page,  printer  of  Stubbs'  pamphlet,  211. 
Palearius,  Antonius,  "  Inquisitionis  Detractator." 

96,  97- 

Pallavicino,  Ferrante,  Italian  satirist,  162,  163. 

Palmieri,  Matteo,  Italian  historian,  182. 

Pannartz,  printer,  201. 

Paolo,  Fra,  see  Sarpi,  141,  142. 

Pasquier,  his  Letters  quoted,  219. 

Pasquinades,  origin  of  term,  1 58. 

Pays,  French  poet,  quoted,  229. 

Penry,  pamphleteer,  126. 

Petit,  Pierre,  poet,  186,  187. 

Peucer,    Caspar,    doctor    of   medicine    and   Cal- 
vinist,  24,  25. 

Pole,    Sir  Geoffrey,    arrested    by   Henry    VIll., 
escapes,  123. 

Pole,  Reginald,  denounced  Henry  VIII.,  122-124. 

Primi,  John  Baptist,    Count   of  St.   Majole,  his- 
torian, 114. 

Prynne,  William,  author  of  Histriomnstix,   131, 
132. 

16 


242  Index. 

QuESNAL,  Pasquier,  translator   and    theologian, 

26-29. 
Quietism,  5,  6. 

Reboul,  Italian  pamphleteer,  130,  131. 

Reinking,  Theodore,  historian,  condemned  to 
eat  his  book,  147. 

Richer,  Edmund,  political  essayist,  139,  140. 

Ritson,  Joseph,  antiquarj-,  188. 

Rosieres,  Francois  de.  Archdeacon  of  Toul,  his- 
torian, 116,  117. 

Rothe,  John,  pretended  prophet,  45. 

Rousseau,  Jean  Baptiste,  satirist,  164. 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  philosopher,  94,  95. 

Rudbeck,  Swedish  historian,  117. 

Riidiger.  John  Christopher,  biographer,  114.  115. 

Sacy,  de,  see  Le  Maistre,  23,  24. 

Salisbury,  Countess  of,  victim  of  Pole's  book, 
123. 

Sarpi,  Pietro,  Venetian  historian,  141,  142. 

Savonarola,  Florentine  preacher,  29-32. 

Scaliger,  his  criticism  of  Dolet,  213,  214. 

Schweynheym,  printer,  201. 

Scioppius,  Caspar,  satirist,  167,  168. 

Sclden,  John,  author  oi  De  Dccimis,  133,  134. 

Servetus,  Michael,  scientist  and  theologian,  per- 
secuted by  Calvin,  33-36. 

Sidney,  Algernon,  his  manuscript  a  witness 
against  him,  137,  138. 

Starkie.  Nicholas,  household  possessed  by  devils, 
see  Darrell,  74- 


Index.  243 

Stephanus  or  Stephens,  Robert,  Parisian  printer, 

206-208. 
Stephens,  Henry,  son  of  above,  printer,  206-208. 
Strutt,  author  of  English  Sports  and  Pastimes. 

225. 
Stubbs,  John,  opponent  of  EHzabeth's  marriage, 

129. 
Sydenham,  Floyer,  translator,  210,  211. 

Theophile,  poet,  181,  182. 

Thou,  de,  French  historian,  108- 1  lO. 

Thou,  Frederick  Augustus  de,  son  of  above,  no. 

Toland,  John,  freethinker,  51-53- 

Tulchin,  John,  editor  of  Obscrvator,  persecuted 
by  Jeffreys,  135. 

Tyndale,  William,  translator  of  Bible  and  con- 
troversialist, 17-20. 

Udal,  Nicholas,  part  author  of  Marprelate  pam- 
phlets, 126. 

UnigenitHS,  Papal  Bull,  28,  29. 

Urseus,  Anthony,  becomes  insane  through  loss  ot 
book,  117. 

Vall.\  Lorenzo,  Roman  satirist,  160,  161. 

Vanini,  Lucilio,  philosopher  and  atheist,  91-94- 

Villanovanus,  noin-de-plwm  of  Servetus,  34. 

Virgil,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  cosmologist,  77,  7^- 

Vizetelly,  publisher,  221,  222. 

Volaterranus,  see  Mafl'ei,  16 1. 

Voltaire,  Fran9ois  Arouet  de,  satirical  poem,  185 


244  Index. 

Wecchiettus,  Jerome,  theologian,  8,  9. 
Wechel,  Christian,  Parisian  printer,  216,  217. 
Wechel,  Andrew,  son  of  above,  217. 
Weiser,  Caspar,  Swedish  poet,  179. 
Wentworth,  Peter,  pamphleteer,  129,  130. 
Wharton,  Henry,  died  of  overwork,  226. 
Whitchurch,  Edward,  printer,  203,  204. 
Willenberg,  Samuel  Friedrich,  advocate  of  poly- 
gamy, 58,  59. 
Williams,  John,  poet,  179. 
Woolston,  Thomas,  freethinker,  53-55. 

YoRKE,  Sir  John,  imprisoned  for  Roman  Catholic 
play  performed  in  his  house,  191. 


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